Full Frame. (Spruce Grouse)

[Karl Egressy]

Full frame and very tight.
I still want to share it with you as it show the details well.
I was on my belly for this shot and had no space to go back at that moment.
Later the bird moved and I had a chance to go to my car, get the 70-200 f4.0 and continue shooting.
This bird was mesmorized by the clicking noise of the MarkIV.
It actually came out to the open to investigate the source of the noise.
Thanks for looking.

Canon 1D MarkIV
Canon 500 f4.0 L IS
Manual Setting
ISO 1600
f5.0
1/400 sec
Hand held laying on the ground.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Karl- it is a bit tight, but still a very nice capture with great detail. The bird seems to be turned just a bit away from you, but nothing you can do about that. I would have liked to see this shot from a slightly higher angle so that the horizon would be higher in the frame (and not intersect the head).

[Jeff Sorbie]

Great Detail Carl. I love it when they cooperate and pose for the camera.

[gareth thomson]

Terrific details. The grouse did everything but smile for you. Miguel makes an interesting point about the shooting angle. How were you supporting the lens? Would you have been able to raise your shooting position and still keep the lens stable? (gt)

[laurie golden]

Karl,

He is a beautiful bird. You did a great job on the detail of those feathers. I do like the background - have never seen them out in the open before. I would be very happy with this photo, and I do like the very low angle.

[Nico Steenberg]

Great soft light makes the details to show off. I like the angle and DOF too.

[Karl Egressy]

Terrific details. The grouse did everything but smile for you. Miguel makes an interesting point about the shooting angle. How were you supporting the lens? Would you have been able to raise your shooting position and still keep the lens stable? (gt)
Thanks, Gareth. All I remember is that I tried to keep the bird in the frame. I focused on the head, stopped autofocus, recomposed and shot.
Not all the shots worked out as I was soooooo close.
In fact I have never ever been so close to a male Spruce Grouse in my life. Look at this shot this way; I posted it to share the beauty of the feather details.
So please try to forget all the rest of the rules and enjoy the beauty of a closeup. That was my intention.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Karl, great opportunity well used. Loved the details. If you could've moved back a bit...might have been better. One suggestion is to warm it up just a little bit.

[gail bisson]

This is a bird I haver never seen in real life but this image is so detailed and viivd that I feel like I have seen the real thing!
Gail

[Nancy Bell]

Beautiful feather details, showing all the intricate patterns on different parts of the bird. I'm sure this makes for great camouflage in a shadowed forest environment. What a thrill to be so close!

[Arthur Morris]

Great bird and pretty sharp. Too tight as noted especially below. Learn to think digitally in the field: after you have made a series of images shoot a frame or two above, left, below, and right as source material for expanding canvas all around. This works well even if the bird runs away--just do not re-focus. Another advantage of rear focus.

[Karl Egressy]

Great bird and pretty sharp. Too tight as noted especially below. Learn to think digitally in the field: after you have made a series of images shoot a frame or two above, left, below, and right as source material for expanding canvas all around. This works well even if the bird runs away--just do not re-focus. Another advantage of rear focus.

Thanks Artie.
This is a great idea.
I'll remember next time.

[Diane Miller]

As much as we work to get close, don't you hate it when you find yourself too close?

Great idea about shooting "pano" shots to stitch together. I've done it with landscapes but don't know if I would think of it with a bird or other animal.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Artie. This is a great idea. I'll remember next time.

YAW. It just takes some awareness and then remembering in the heat of the moment. But after time, it become second nature; snap, snap, snap, snap. All covered. And yes Diane, it works for birds and bears and bees.

[Karl Egressy]

YAW. It just takes some awareness and then remembering in the heat of the moment. But after time, it become second nature; snap, snap, snap, snap. All covered. And yes Diane, it works for birds and bears and bees.

Following Arthur Morris's great idea, I managed to find shot where there was more room in front and at the bottom and less at the top. I
combined the two using layers, and layer mask.
Now I have more decent crop I think.
Here it is.

[Arthur Morris]

Much better on the bottom. You could actually add canvas left and top. From ABP II (https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=19): it is generally best that the bird does not occupy more than 75% of either the vertical or horizontal dimension of the frame.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Karl, after viewing your female grouse, the male certainly does look different with regards to the colours - very impressive. Good low angle, lots of detail to look at, and well done on your repost.

Now your next challenge is to capture both male and female in the same frame. :w3

[Karl Egressy]

Thank you all. Most posting give as a chance to learn a little more. I share it with my wife so both of us benefit from. 75%, it is not there yeat but got closer.

[Mike Landwehr]

Hi Karl, I love the repost. Amazing what a little extra space does for the composition. The feather detail and colors are wonderful. The colors really stand out against the mat of pine needles on the ground. The OOF background is very nice, and I love the red over the eye! It must have been very exciting to get up so close with your camera.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

A very pretty grouse! the repost makes this one even better. Very good comments above. Nice details, BG and eye contact.

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot Karl. Very nice light, wonderful background, great shooting anlge, nice details, and the repost is much better.
Well done.

[Satish Ranadive]

Gorgeous image.Love the colors and details.Beautiful design on bird too.

Regards,
Satish.