A study in Trumpeter Swans, maybe

[Jack Breakfast]

Birdfiends, here is a look at my friend with the yellows standing alongside the much more common yellowless version. Fun! This snappo was taken with the Canon 7D and 100-400 at 400mm. iso400, 1/1000, f10.
I shall welcome your opinions, ideas, suggestions, and rebukes! Here's one: tone down the brightest whites. OK! I will! But not now. Later.

150319

[David Stephens]

I love the close portrait, but I think that the second OOF bird detracts a good bit. Nice BG and bokeh. I think you got the exposure right and there are blown out highlights, they're very minor.

[gail bisson]

Good one jack.
The whites look excellent. Good IQ
I am not usually a fan of OOF birds in the BG but because the poses are identical it works for me.
Composition is tricky for this image and I like what you have chosen. If you have more neck at the bottom of the frame I would consider a vertical as well,
Gail

[Jack Breakfast]

Thanks birdos. This picture is primarily a study of yellows VS non-yellows in trumpeter swans. Certainly, in the moment, I took some portraits of just the yellow fellow on his own, but I find this snap interesting because I'm a BIRD NERD and so also are many of you, I'd wager.

[Diane Miller]

Interesting image with wonderful detail on the front bird. The comparison of the two birds with their matching poses is wonderful! Having the back one brighter does somewhat turn conventional wisdom on its side, but it works here. With no detail due to it being OOF, your only option would be to make it gray, which wouldn't look right, and it would have to be darkened a lot to drop behind the nice gradient of shading on top of the front bird's head.

Maybe a little more detail could be found on the side of the front bird's face -- that's my only nit and it's a small one.

[Karl Egressy]

Interesting image, good IQ and well presented, Jack.

[Jack Breakfast]

Yes cutiepies, this picture is mostly an illustration-in-waiting for a natural history essay I want somebody to write about the small percentage of trumps with yellows in their lores. If my brain were even remotely scientific, or if I had any sort of academic discipline, patience, ambition, or moxy, I'd write it myself!