Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana)

[telyt]

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The light yesterday morning was too good to waste on household chores.

 

 

a male Western Bluebird:

 

and the female:

 

I followed a small flock of these bluebirds around as they foraged for bugs and worms, and eventually they allowed me within range of the 560mm lens.

 

Technical stuff: Leica R8/DMR @ISO 400. 560mm f/6.8 Telyt-R, monopod & shoulder stock.

[jmr]

Doug,

 

well done! Two really good shots.

[stuny]

Doug -

 

Exactly the high qualitiy I expect of you. I'm sending copies of these to my friend Sallie.

[Canfred]

Looks like spring has arrived Doug , very pleasant bird shots excellent background and colors.

Manfred

[topoxforddoc]

Doug,

 

they're wonderful shots as usual. The male looks the same colour as a large feather duster - were youre ally escaping your household chores?

 

Best wishes,

 

Charlie

[imported_peter_m]

The signs of spring :-)

 

Nice catch on both of them Dough.

 

Looking at that branch you are not all that much ahead of up here in central BC.

 

I wish them Western Bluebirds would make it up here they are sure pretty with the bit of orange. I do love my Mountain Blue Birds, got a bunch of them nesting around here every year. Noting better then watching them in the morning

 

Peter

[telyt]

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Thanks for the comments. Peter, yes spring is on the way, we sent at least 600 Sandhill Cranes your way on Saturday

[imported_peter_m]

Dough,

 

I marked it down in my calendar, will let you know when the first ones arrive up here.

 

Peter

[rnocke]

Doug,

 

really great shot with finesse! The quality also gives a realistic perspective to all the bogus said on the noice level of the DMR at ISO 400.

 

Conrad

[dan_drabek]

Doug,

I just stopped in briefly and caught a look at this.

Absolutely gorgeous.

I'd give my right arm to sight a bluebird in Santa Cruz, and here you've captured not only one, but a pair. Looks like they must be in breeding colors already. Thanks for making my day.

DD

[edlaurpic]

Wonderful shots with lifelike color.

 

Auto WB or set to 5500Kelvin? And what shutter speed and aperture?

 

Thanks for sharing with us.

[telyt]

Thanks for all the comments.

 

Ed, the photo was made at 1/250 sec @ f/6.8 with auto white balance, aperture priority, matrix meter pattern, -1 stop exposure compensation.

 

Conrad, I ordinarily use ISO 400 and I find that the noise is less noticable than grain with Kodachrome 25. I've used the equivalent of ISO 1600 when nessesary (ISO 400 with -2 stops exposure compensation) and noise is more noticable but not objectionable IMHO. What I lose more than anything else at ISO 1600 is some tonal gradation.

[billh]

They are both beautiful, but the top one is really stunning. There is not so much as a hint of harshness or over sharpening, and the colors are very rich and there is tons of detail present.