What is the main subject of this photo? I know that when I took it, I was intently focusing on the little brown bird. When I pulled the image up on my computer screen and cropped it, however, I became much more interested in the composition. The blurry background with faintly visible trees and the little branches of tree on which the bird has hooked his feet suddenly became of equal importance to me as the bird itself. I find the pose of the bird interesting, but I think its interest is magnified by the simple setting.
What do you think?
Brown bird on little branch
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Nice shot, Mike. My guess is it’s a White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis); not at all common out here in NM, but you should see them there especially during migration.
Thanks, Joe. I always appreciate help in identification.
It is a white throated sparrow. They have one of my favorite bird songs. It fits the words, “oh Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody.” It’s quite melodious. Of course they sing mostly in the spring. They usually stay in southern Illinois through the winter.
Thanks for identifying my little bird. There seem to be a lot of different sparrows and they all tend to look the same to me.
I’ll say the bird is the focus but the branches lead your eye to it and greatly add interest as you say.
Yeah I like it Mike, if the background was clear then the Sparrow would look a little lost in the frame, the added background blur and branches add to the whole composition, Well done.
Thanks. You almost read my mind on why I like the image. I like trying to photograph the small birds I see all the time, but it’s a challenge to capture them in a way that lets them shine. I think I managed to do so relatively well this time. Now if I could just get the birds to cooperate more and not spend so much time in the cluttered underbrush….