gff3 1
Male American Goldfinch: The state bird of my great state of New Jersey (oh and Idaho)
Male American Goldfinch: The state bird of my great state of New Jersey (oh and Idaho)
Read less
Read less
Aug, 2016Views
488
Likes
Awards
Member Selection Award
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Genius
Outstanding Creativity
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 20 rank week 2
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 10 rankCategories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in a field that is maintained at Rutgers University's Livingston Campus (Piscataway, New Jersey) and is part of their "No Mow Zone" initiative leaving designated areas to freely grow.Time
This was shot approximately 5:00pm. As I was sitting in the field amongst the flowers and over-grown grass covered in insects I drew quite a bit of attention of students riding or walking pass me.Lighting
I have gotten a few good shots of American Goldfinches from this area before; however, the angel was always straight on. I wanted to capture more of upright angle as to get the sky in the background versus more vegetation.Equipment
This was shot with a Sony A7 outfitted with LAEA4 adapter and a Sony 70-400mm f/4-5.6 G2 Telephoto Zoom Lens... hand heldInspiration
As a native to New Jersey and individual bird enthusiast, the American Goldfinch means a lot me being our state bird. Since moving back to NJ I rehashed two old fascinations from my youth: birds and photography. For the past year I have been refining my skills as a novice photographer and made it a goal to capture a great shot of an American Goldfinch.Editing
I did crop the photo a little and slightly underexposed it.In my camera bag
I typically have in my bag an Olympus 35mm OM-1 loaded with B& W film with 50mm lens ( a classic, I have a photo of it on my profile), and a Sony A6000 with a 19mm lens with wide-angle lens adapter for any landscape shot. Also I usually have 2-extra batteries, 1-extra memory card, Sony 35mm f1.8 lens, 1-bottle of water, and bug spray.Feedback
Patience pays off. I also studied the American Goldfinch in this particular meadow and became knowledgeable in its behavior and interactions with the environment.
