Superb Fairy Wren

[Chrisclick]

Caught this one just yesterday. These little guys (this is the male), measure only 14cm long from tip to tail, with the tail being nearly half of the overall length. The adults weigh approximately 14g - just under 1/2 Oz.

Preferring the protection of thickly branched bushes, they fly frantically from bush to bush, being careful not to be exposed for longer than needed.

Luckily this one was mostly exposed, though the shot was still cluttered with branches, which were cloned out.






CC always welcome.

[Ziggy]

That's a nice one Chris, well done.

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[Geoff F]

Yes, definitely looking good. The tail tip is fractionally out of focus but to be honest, that doesn't really cause a problem.

[Wavelength]

Really wonderful...did you have to work on background or got it that way ?

[FootLoose]

Good catch, Chris. They certainly are flighty little things. I have yet to succeed in catching one without it being partially obscured by vegetation.

[Chrisclick]

Thanks very much, Jim, John, Geoff, Nandakumar, and Greg. I'm glad you dropped by for a look, appreciate the comments.

Hi Nandakumar, I had to work at the BG. There were other branches that cluttered the frame. The branch that the bird is perched on, had smaller branches along it. I cloned out all of the unwanted distractions and continued to clone with a relatively large, very soft brush, at low opacity. The BG beyond the branches was nice and soft with some lighter and darker areas which I cloned in over and over at low opacity, to even out the effect. Glad you like it!

Hi Greg, yes, a bit of luck with this one!

[IzzieK]

How did you catch this one with your camera. You must have observed this one very long to know when to press your shutter...that darn shutter thing in my camera gave me problem almost all day yesterday...It is a very pretty bird...good pp too...how do you know which colour to choose for your background after clearing all that space?

[Dave Humphries]

Very nice crop/framing Chris; with tail pointing to top right corner and eyes apparently looking to top left.

Good detail where it matters most.

Cheers, Dave

[Chrisclick]

How did you catch this one with your camera. You must have observed this one very long to know when to press your shutter...that darn shutter thing in my camera gave me problem almost all day yesterday...It is a very pretty bird...good pp too...how do you know which colour to choose for your background after clearing all that space?

Hi Izzie, Thanks for looking and commenting. Sorry to hear that your shutter is not behaving properly.

I didn't have to keep my eye on the bird for very long at all. I regularly visit an area not far from where I live, where I know that there is a good chance of getting a shot of a bird or two. Along one side of an open area that has a few trees in it, there is a line of low bushes that extends about 500 meters.

I usually walk along the length of the row of bushes with my camera switched ON, and with the shutter speed and aperture pre-set, ready to go. These days, I nearly always have the ISO set to 'Auto' - it saves a lot of time. A 400mm lens allows me to walk far enough away from the bushes so as not to startle any of the small birds (most of the time). When I see a bird like this little wren, I immediately stop walking and focus my attention completely on it.

Many times, by the time I have raised my camera, the bird has taken flight or, moved to a different branch in the same bush. If it has taken flight, it is usually just to the next bush along the line. So I carefully walk towards it, sometimes keeping the bird in sight through the viewfinder as I walk.

Once I have a clear line, it's just a matter of focussing and pressing the shutter release. No wasted time changing the settings.

My lens/camera combination focusses very quickly, I'm sure that's a big factor.

The background colours are the colours that were in the shot. Cloning out the unwanted branches and other distractions is simply a matter of choosing some of the 'good' BG and cloning over the unwanted branches. When all of the distractions are gone the BG can look a bit patchy, though at least it has the colours that were originally in the frame.

To fix the patchiness, I continue to clone with a large, soft, brush. The opacity is very low (10 to 20%), gradually blending colour from one area to another.

Thanks again, Izzie.

[Chrisclick]

Very nice crop/framing Chris; with tail pointing to top right corner and eyes apparently looking to top left.

Good detail where it matters most.

Cheers, Dave

Many thanks, Dave. Appreciate it.

[Dave A]

Beautiful image, nicely done.

Dave

[GBO25]

Very nicely done Chris. I have a little family of these guys living in my hedge, they're great subjects and certainly teac you patience pays off.

[Chrisclick]

Thanks for dropping by, Dave and Graham. I appreciate you taking the time.

Hi Graham, I had a peek at your Flickr. Lovely shots of the wrens!

You are lucky to have them so close, I have to drive (just for a few minutes) to find them. Although we do have a few species of birds that visit our yards, I've yet to see any wrens near the house.

Thanks again.

[bnnrcn]

I love the composition and the details,the BG also looks good, great image

[IzzieK]

Thank you for the details, Chris. I will keep note of this...'appreciate it.

Hi Izzie, Thanks for looking and commenting. Sorry to hear that your shutter is not behaving properly.

I didn't have to keep my eye on the bird for very long at all. I regularly visit an area not far from where I live, where I know that there is a good chance of getting a shot of a bird or two. Along one side of an open area that has a few trees in it, there is a line of low bushes that extends about 500 meters.

I usually walk along the length of the row of bushes with my camera switched ON, and with the shutter speed and aperture pre-set, ready to go. These days, I nearly always have the ISO set to 'Auto' - it saves a lot of time. A 400mm lens allows me to walk far enough away from the bushes so as not to startle any of the small birds (most of the time). When I see a bird like this little wren, I immediately stop walking and focus my attention completely on it.

Many times, by the time I have raised my camera, the bird has taken flight or, moved to a different branch in the same bush. If it has taken flight, it is usually just to the next bush along the line. So I carefully walk towards it, sometimes keeping the bird in sight through the viewfinder as I walk.

Once I have a clear line, it's just a matter of focussing and pressing the shutter release. No wasted time changing the settings.

My lens/camera combination focusses very quickly, I'm sure that's a big factor.

The background colours are the colours that were in the shot. Cloning out the unwanted branches and other distractions is simply a matter of choosing some of the 'good' BG and cloning over the unwanted branches. When all of the distractions are gone the BG can look a bit patchy, though at least it has the colours that were originally in the frame.

To fix the patchiness, I continue to clone with a large, soft, brush. The opacity is very low (10 to 20%), gradually blending colour from one area to another.

Thanks again, Izzie.

[Brownbear]

Gorgeous image! Indeed the background looks perfect.

[pnodrog]

I don't really hate all ferry wrens but I certainly despise the ones that I have tried to photograph. They stayed still just long enough to get my hopes up.

Really pleased to see one that did not get away. Well taken.

[Chrisclick]

Thank you, Christina. I am glad that you like it.

Many thanks, Paul. Yep, they're quick! I know all about disappointment!!