Jeffery Smith wrote: >>> Her colors are a pretty close match to the background. Very nice catch. <<< This is why I wanted a dark shadow behind her head. The viewer's eye is drawn to the contrast between the plumage and the background and I wanted to place that contrast near the bird's eye. Thanks for looking and commenting! Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://www.wildlightphoto.com On May 2, 2010, at 11:29 PM, Doug Herr wrote: > This weekend I made a quick trip (for family) to Brookings Oregon, on the Pacific coast just north of the California/Oregon border. While there I found a female Ruffed Grouse who was far more tolerant of a camo-clad photographer than I expected: > > http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/phasianidae/rugrou00.html > > The background was a bit difficult to work with because of the clutter of the leaf litter on the forest floor; also the grouse' preferred habitat is the dense understory of the Pacific Northwest's temperate rain forest, so getting a clear view of the bird meant getting really really close with an ultrawide-angle lens (100mm APO in this case). Now, about the background... I wanted a darker background behind the bird's head, which in this particular case was more distant. The best way to get the dark background was a very low camera angle, which meant on my belly in the rain forest with huge banana slugs nearby. > > technical stuff: R8/DMR, 100mm APO, slight crop, shoulder stock, heavy fog/light drizzle lighting. All comments welcome. > > Doug Herr > Birdman of Sacramento > http://www.wildlightphoto.com > > > > ========================================================= > To Unsubscribe: Send email to leica-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. The acknowledgment that you then receive MUST be replied to per instructions. You may also log in to the Web interface to unsubscribe. ========================================================= To Unsubscribe: Send email to leica-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. The acknowledgment that you then receive MUST be replied to per instructions. You may also log in to the Web interface to unsubscribe. -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web.com ? Enhanced email for the mobile individual based on Microsoft® Exchange - http://link.mail2web.com/Personal/EnhancedEmail ========================================================To Unsubscribe: Send email to leica-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. The acknowledgment that you then receive MUST be replied to per instructions. You may also log in to the Web interface to unsubscribe.