*Tristram's Grackle*

Critiques [Translate]

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• saguzar (6633)
• [2007-03-13 17:45]

hello Thor,
A lot of time that i not see a photo from you. And this one is excellent, the details, colors and light are superb!
good job my friend
Hernán

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• horia (12468)
• [2007-03-13 17:59]

Hi Thor and REALLY nice to see you back!
I hope this is not only a short visit... ;)

This is a really wonderful capture!
I never knew of this species before, so firstly, thakns for sharing!
The timing of your capture is also excellent and very funny...you can almost see from the look in its face that it's...well..."pooping" :)))))))
The details are crispy clear and the contrast between the black plumage of the bird and the brighter BG looks terrific!
Also the natural colors are superb and very nicely saturated, the POV is excelllent, the DOF is outstanding and the composition is simple and beautiful.

Cheers, my friend and TFS
Horia

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• Runnerduck (1847)
• [2007-03-13 19:07]

Hello Thorsten, haven't seen you here for a while. Great capture, is he doing a sh*t?? A lovely composition, great colours and exposure. My only nit would be the lack of catchlight in his eye.
Good work, thanks for sharing.

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• loot (9131)
• [2007-03-13 21:02]
• [2]

Hi Thor

Looooong time no see nor hear. Good to see a posting from you MF. Looks like you've been travelling a bit. Taken on top of Masada - rather interesting. It doesn't look like the bird is very impressed with your shoot and it has its own "civilised" manner to express its indifference (chuckle).

We have a very similar bird here in SA, the Red-winged starling (Onychognathus morio) which almost looks identical, but the distribution ranges obviously do not correspond. A difficult bird to photograph due to the dark plumage and this is complicated even more when one photograph the bird in such harsh sunlight. The ambient light makes the surroundings very bright and the dark subject tends to look even darker especially since you shot the bird from the shady side, but you did well to capture sufficient details and contrasts under the circumstances. Just a pity you could not get a little more light on the eye to make it a little more visible. However, the bird stand out well against the OOF and well removed BG, the colours are good, and the composition is excellent. After all, any slight technical nits are far outweighed by the splendid action captured in this shot.

Well done and TFS.
Regards
Loot

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• Silke (5398)
• [2007-03-13 22:55]

Too funny to see at what moment you have caught this character!
Quite the expression!
Super colours and details
Good to have you back again
TFS
silke

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• coasties (27512)
• [2007-03-14 0:51]

Hi Thorsten

Well done on a technically excellent shot. You captured this guy at a bad moment. :-)

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• shaharbv (133)
• [2007-03-14 2:18]

Hi Thorsten,
I'm glad you've been to Masada. It's a real heaven for birds. Looks like you caught him while he was in the middle of defecation. Good details, though it is really hard to see the details on the male, because he his very black. The female is more photogenic.

Regards,
Shahar.

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• pvs (11539)
• [2007-03-14 2:33]

Hi Thorsten,

Nice to see a capture of yours again and always in for a joke as you captured him in action,despite the difficult light,you managed quite well to show the colors and contrasts of this black bird,TFS

Paul

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• sandpiper2 (11417)
• [2007-03-14 6:39]

A new species for me
Well captured
As Loot says, not easy conditions in the harsh sunlight, but I think the eye contact is OK.
Great sharpness and composition
well done
Chris

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• viv (3098)
• [2007-03-14 7:27]

Hi Thor,
Great Shot of this bird, and I see that you was in time to see the bird in action.
Great details, glad to see you back.
Vivian

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• dew77 (13069)
• [2007-03-14 9:43]

Hello Thorsten,
Nice to see a new post from you again:)Lovely capture.I liked details on black feathers,simple BG,lighting and composition a lot.Excellent work!
TFS..:-)

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• Alex99 (14603)
• [2007-03-14 10:18]
• - [workshop] [compare]

Hi Thorsten.
What a great pause. I ma glad to see your new nice picture. Its composition is perfect as well as the DOF. sharpness of the bird and FG. Excellent blurred and nice coloured BG looks very well too. I only have tried to lighten black image of the bird (see my WS). My compliments and TFS.
Alexei.

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• vanderschelden (26536)
• [2007-03-14 15:30]

Hi Thorsten
Nice Black&White:-)
Very good composition; as a matter of fact very good everything...definitely no 'shiiitt':-)
TFS
Annick

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• giacomosg (979)
• [2007-03-15 15:18]

very interesting subject.
Good shot
Giacomo

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• SkyF (8113)
• [2007-03-17 11:05]

Hallo Thorsten,
wird ja langsam Zeit dass du dich mal wieder blicken laesst ;-). Klasse Aufnahme, richtig konzentriert sieht der aus aber ich denke bei solch einer Beschaeftigung muss man sich konzentrieren, hahaha.
Super Bildgestaltung, der Humor kommt auch sehr gut an.
Gruss..Sky

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• TheMystic (483)
• [2007-03-17 15:02]
• [+]

Hello Thor: good thing you didn't catch him flying overhead! Very detailed picture - wonder what his diet consists of?
Cheers
Otto

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• Adam73 (2069)
• [2007-03-22 14:37]

shooting black birds has always been difficult for me. There harder to shoot than white birds. You did great with this exposure. The sharpness and details are wonderful. I thought you propped him up with a little white stick but I see he is having a bowel movement and excreting some waste. LOL He is actually a pretty bird, I just feel like I'm violating his privacy. hehee

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• Tamrock (3649)
• [2007-06-06 14:48]

hi thorsten!
good picture on a fine bird!
sharp with nice pov and dof
and i like the fine background!
good work!