It isn’t often that I’m equally pleased with both the technical aspects and the aesthetic appeal of one of my images but this is one of those times.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
The sparrow was beautifully framed by juniper three days ago in the mountains of the west desert. I had nice light on the entire bird, the sparrow is sharp except for the end of the tail and I have a pleasing and clean background so the bird really stands out against all of that green. A nice turn of the head and a resulting catch light in the eye topped it all off
My only concern about the image is that the colors seem slightly intense to me. I almost never add saturation or adjust color tones in my photos and I didn’t this time. In fact I actually considered desaturating the image slightly but in the end I left it alone because the photo was taken early in the morning and I believe the color intensity is due to the warm light so it’s natural. Besides, I like those warm colors.
I probably don’t give sparrows their due on my blog, especially the common species. Images like this one remind me to change my ways.
Ron
Note: An interesting and slightly perplexing statistic about Chipping Sparrows. Cornell’s Birds of North America Online (BNA) says that males are slightly larger than females but females are heavier. I’m still chewing on that one…
Sensational shot Ron!
Charlotte
A great image – a high point among many.
Thanks very much, Gary.
Ron, I think that the Sparrow and Juniper complement each other. The photo could work for a Christmas Greeting! Thank you for today’s treat!
Thank you, Alice. Never thought of the Christmas possibility…
What a charmer. And a fascinating shape. Ping-pong ball with legs? Our sparrows are much more exclusively lbjs than that.
“Ping-pong ball with legs?”
Pretty much, EC. I had the same thought when I was processing the image.
Very nice!
Thanks, Dave.
Beautiful!! There’s been quite a few “Chippers” around here so far this year, but I’ve yet to make a decent photograph of one – so kudos to you!. I love sparrows and I’d like to see all of them someday. It’s fun to search for them while traveling. I was so excited to see a couple of Bachman’s in Florida last month. What a lovely song they have!
Bachman’s has a pretty restricted range, especially when compared to that of Chipping Sparrows. I’ve never seen a Bachman’s and almost certainly never will. Thanks, Joanne.
Little brown bird in a big green frame. Love this hard!
Good!
Beautiful photo, Ron! I like to think of sparrows as the “winter warblers” – the intense yellows, oranges, greens and blacks we associate with warblers have just been replaced by warm tans, grays, silvers and chestnuts. They are all stunning in their own way. Thanks again for a beautiful start to the day.
You said that well, Diane. “Winter warblers” works for me…
Great colors and framed beautifully by the Junipers. I will often take a photo of a Sparrow, Chipping or otherwise, and kind of set it aside because it is only a Sparrow, but your post is a good reminder that the more common can also be beautiful and worthwhile.
Thanks, Everett. Common species are often uncommonly attractive.
Beautiful capture, Ron. I generally prefer an extraordinary photo of a common bird to a common photo of an extraordinary bird.
Well said, David. Generally, so do I.
Beautiful 🙂
Thanks, D.
NICE! Great framing of the sparrow. 🙂 Colors, particularly the juniper just look “fresh and clean” to me as in a recent shower and it’s spring…. 🙂 Finally getting some needed rain here
Interesting that you’d mention the “fresh and clean” juniper, Judy. That’s something I was lucky to get because most of the junipers close to the road in that area are covered with road dust so their colors are dull and unhealthy looking. I thank the sparrow for choosing a beautiful perch.
A lovely photo; his rufous cap offers the right amount of contrast. Beauty in the ordinary! I have one trilling out back as I type this…they are always a delight to listen to.
“I have one trilling out back as I type this”
How appropriate, Kathy.
And I agree, the rufous cap makes a big positive difference.