A Canyon Wren (Catherpes mexicanus), singing its heart out

RonnF wrote in post #18594987
IMAGE LINK: https://www.flickr.com …s/ronfredrick/2​7150735098
A Canyon Wren (Catherpes mexicanus), singing its heart out by Ron Fredrick on Flickr

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18595217
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I really love this. . I especially like the clean, clear background, and the fact that there is no visible noise grain in that background. . Is that background completely "as shot", or did you use some editing techniques to even out some irregularities?

=> The background is "as shot", Tom, as far as not being "Photoshopped"...but I *always* use Neat Image on my photos to reduce or eliminate digital noise: https://ni.neatvideo.c​om
I was using an ISO of 500 for the series so there wasn't much noise to eliminate.

I've tried on many occasions to get nice cleanly composed Canyon Wren photos like this, but failed every time. . It seems that the rocks they perch on are always aligned poorly for me, and obscure their feet, or there are both bright areas and dark areas in the rocky background. . Because of all my failed attempts, I can appreciate your image even more.

=> I understand completely because I've had the same problems you've encountered. In this case, it helped that it was in late afternoon(~3:30 PM) so I didn't have to deal with harsh sunlight and that probably helped smooth the background. And to jump ahead to your next question, I did use a playback call to get its attention, which allowed me to pick an area with some "attractive rocks", with the sun at my back. Playback calls, when used in moderation, can be really effective, and is many times, IMO, less stressful on the bird than following it from perch to perch for 15 minutes to try to get a good shot. With the playback call, one can remain seated(I use a collapsible 3-legged stool) and let the bird decide how close it will come to you. Compare that to *hoping* the bird will not fly off as you move closer and closer to get the photo. We've all done that and have seen the bird get more and more nervous looking as we moved closer.

Just asking out of curiosity - did you happen to use a playback call to get his guy to perch near you? . I did so with a Rock Wren last November, and it was an effective technique.


Hope this answered your questions, Tom. If it didn't, or if you think of new ones, feel free to message me.

Ron

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