Brown Thrasher - rather be lucky than good!

After months of frustration trying to capture a Brown Thrasher I had one fall into my lap. You can tell from the EXIF data that I didn't really have what I would consider to be optimal camera settings for this shot, yet the 7D helped pull it out. This image is cropped from the JPEG generated SOOC. One question for the afficionados - is the slim tree trunk running up behind the Thrasher a serious distraction?

Well congrats Steve! The light looks really tough. But you did pull it off, so well done. Now you mean that Giant Sequoia coming out of its butt? Hadn't noticed. I guess in a perfect world it would not be there but I have not found that perfect world yet....if you do let me me know where it is. It does not bother me. I'm focused on the bird. If it bothers you you could remove it in PS very easily.

Very many congratulations on your first capture Steve! You did well.
I can certainly understand your excitement. My first and only Brown Thrasher had many more distracting branches. It is impossible for me to tell you whether or not it would have caught my eye without your question, but since you mentioned it, I think it would be better without the slim tree trunk.

wow, nice shot. how'd you get it to pose in that light?

Good catch Steve, as others have said, the branch can be removed.

Good for you, Steve; a nice shot. And, no, the branch is not a bother.
Al

HUGE congrats on the encounter Steve! This is a wonderful capture, as if the bird just popped up on the Broadway stage and fixin to do some tap dance . Hey, Luck = Preparation + Opportunity, right? And this reward is SCHWEEEETTT! Well done my friend!
This is probably just a personal preference, I would lighten the end of its tail a bit so that it won't get too washed out against the dark bg.

That looks like some tough lighting...heh. Nope, the tree isn't a bother at all, nice shot.

Congratulations on the capture... such a handsome bird the Brown Thrasher and you caught him in beautiful light... excellent pose, detail and neat habitat, I never worry about branches in the depth of the composition, if I did I would be in deep trouble in my forest

Dave

Big congrats on the capture, Steve and a fine capture it is. As Craig said: tough light but you pulled it off. As to the blurry tree in the background. It doesn't bother me one bit, but the image would probably be better if it wasn't there.

Grizz wrote in post #14213834
Well congrats Steve! The light looks really tough. But you did pull it off, so well done. Now you mean that Giant Sequoia coming out of its butt? Hadn't noticed. I guess in a perfect world it would not be there but I have not found that perfect world yet....if you do let me me know where it is. It does not bother me. I'm focused on the bird. If it bothers you you could remove it in PS very easily.

Haha Craig, irritant vegetation always resembles megaflora doesn't it -
Thanks for the compliment and you can be sure this image will get worked over in PS a lot!

Diamond Lil wrote in post #14213904
Very many congratulations on your first capture Steve! You did well.
I can certainly understand your excitement. My first and only Brown Thrasher had many more distracting branches. It is impossible for me to tell you whether or not it would have caught my eye without your question, but since you mentioned it, I think it would be better without the slim tree trunk.

I appreciate that very much Lillian. Like you, I could go either way with the tree trunk.

rick_reno wrote in post #14214241
wow, nice shot. how'd you get it to pose in that light?

I'd love to say "I put in my request and....", but it was absolute luck Rick. Thanks for the nice comments.

Joe52 wrote in post #14214690
Good catch Steve, as others have said, the branch can be removed.

Thanks Joe. I'm pretty good with "tree removal", but I'm not always happy w/the results. We'll see how it looks both ways.

CDMOOSE wrote in post #14214734
Good for you, Steve; a nice shot. And, no, the branch is not a bother.
Al

Always appreciated Al, and the beauty of RAW is I can try it both ways.

cfcRebel wrote in post #14216162
HUGE congrats on the encounter Steve! This is a wonderful capture, as if the bird just popped up on the Broadway stage and fixin to do some tap dance . Hey, Luck = Preparation + Opportunity, right? And this reward is SCHWEEEETTT! Well done my friend!
This is probably just a personal preference, I would lighten the end of its tail a bit so that it won't get too washed out against the dark bg.

LOL Fee, it does look like a Broadway spotlight doesn't it! I see what you mean about the tail tip and I agree. Thanks for your generous and constructive comments as always.

woos wrote in post #14216265
That looks like some tough lighting...heh. Nope, the tree isn't a bother at all, nice shot.

Tough light yes, but had to try the shot. Thankfully it worked out in my favor this time. Thank you woos for your comments.

dbriz wrote in post #14216785
Congratulations on the capture... such a handsome bird the Brown Thrasher and you caught him in beautiful light... excellent pose, detail and neat habitat, I never worry about branches in the depth of the composition, if I did I would be in deep trouble in my forest

Dave

You're right Dave, we'd all be in trouble if we let little things like trees get in the way - .
These tongues of light result from the leaves filling in on the trees behind me but offer some unique lighting situations/challenges. Always appreciate you insights and comments.

Levina de Ruijter wrote in post #14216952
Big congrats on the capture, Steve and a fine capture it is. As Craig said: tough light but you pulled it off. As to the blurry tree in the background. It doesn't bother me one bit, but the image would probably be better if it wasn't there.

You're always very kind Levina and it's appreciated. It was one of those "OK, I'll give it a try" situations I'm sure we all have seen.

Congrats to you, they are great at hiding in the shadows like that, I see one maybe once a year. The branch in the back, well it is what it is, thats where they like to hide, I say no problem, Well done!

Great capture and well done. The bird is in its natural habitat, leave the photo as is,its a great shot.

BGgraphy wrote in post #14219461
Congrats to you, they are great at hiding in the shadows like that, I see one maybe once a year. The branch in the back, well it is what it is, thats where they like to hide, I say no problem, Well done!

Thanks Bret. I'm beginning to think I like the branch behind too.

cdiver2 wrote in post #14219532
Great capture and well done. The bird is in its natural habitat, leave the photo as is,its a great shot.

Thank you cdive, and I agree that the bird is where it belongs and needs to be shown that way.

The shot's fine as it is Steve, the light playing on the bird takes the eye to that and the whole composition works for me.