Blue Jay

[Jim Crosswell]

This was taken in the spring in my backyard. I had a set up going but this branch was not a part of it. The Jays drop into the backyard 10 to 30 at a time for peanuts. This is a tight shot but I like the raised crest. The BG is grass and OOF dandelions.
All C&Cs are welcome and appreciated.

Canon 1D MK IV
500L f4
1.4 Extender
ISO 1000
f8
1/500s
Tripod

[Graham Wilkes]

I like the softness of this image, great to have the crest raised and the clean background puts all the focus on this beautiful bird.
Perch is perfect, so is the exposure and head turn.

Graham

[William Dickson]

You captured a nice looking bird Jim. I like the different tones of blue. A nice pose and lovely BG. Although the BG looks good, if mine I would probably reduce the contrast a wee bit.

Nice one

Will

[Tim Foltz]

Jim, nice pose, HA, perch and BG, if it were mine I would give it a bit more room all the way around.

-Tim

[keith mitchell]

Nicely in focus from it's beak to the end of it's tail Jim,with very good natural feather detail,big in frame can be good for showing all the detail,nearly forgot the colour of the bird which is just as I remember them.

Keith.

[Isaac Grant]

Very nice shot. Like everything about this. Great pose, head angle and details. The background works perfectly and the size of the perch is just right. Crop works for me as well. Only thing I could suggest is that the shot seems a tiny bit flat to me. If mine I would add a tiny bit more saturation. Blue Jays are birds I also see every day in my yard and they always seem a little more vibrant than this. That would make this shot just about perfect.

[Jim Crosswell]

Very nice shot. Like everything about this. Great pose, head angle and details. The background works perfectly and the size of the perch is just right. Crop works for me as well. Only thing I could suggest is that the shot seems a tiny bit flat to me. If mine I would add a tiny bit more saturation. Blue Jays are birds I also see every day in my yard and they always seem a little more vibrant than this. That would make this shot just about perfect.

Here is a repost with a little more saturation. Thanks Isaac.

[Isaac Grant]

Looks better to me. These guys are everywhere but never pose for a shot. I'm not lucky enough to be able to get any nice shots in my yard despite the fact that I have a yard list of 182 species!!!

[Geoff Newhouse]

Everything is spot on with this nice BJ portrait. I could go either way with the original softer look or the contrasty repost.

TFS
Geoff

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image. Beautiful colors with great details. nice perch, BG, HA and nice composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[David Salem]

Great looking frame Jim. I like the pose and colors in this one, especially the re-post and the BG looks nice too. Maybe just a bit looser comp but otherwise a killer frame. Well done

[gail bisson]

Very nice Jim!
These blue jays are everywhere but it is hard to get a nice image of them.
I find the green BG a bit overpowering and would reduce the saturation of the greens slightly.
Repost looks good,
Gail

[Jim Crosswell]

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions. This is 95 percent so almost full frame so not too much room to play with. I did another version toning down the green BG and liked it, thanks Gail.

[Isaac Grant]

Hey Jim, just wanted to point out that you can always add canvas to a shot. Even if it is full frame and you are going above 100%. I did a quick work up of your shot that of course would be better if working with the original. Imported it into PS. Went to IMAGE, CANVAS SIZE, changed the size of the width to 11 inches. Chose that number randomly as it was an inch or so wider than what you had it at. You would be able to add as much or little as you would like. Used the 3 arrows on the left side of the box to anchor and add canvas to the right. Then I selected the RECTANGULAR MARQUEE TOOL and selected the new canvas with a sliver of the green of the original. Then went to EDIT, and FILL and did a CONTENT AWARE FILL with COLOR ADAPATATION checked. Should be just about perfect then. Might have to play a tiny bit with the branch to make perfect. In all it took maybe 1 minute to add the canvas. Then I selected the background and toned it down slightly as you mentioned it was better. Hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions. Keep in mind that you can add canvas to anywhere on the picture and also fill it in a couple different ways as well but these are the ways that I find the easiest.

[Jim Crosswell]

Thanks Isaac. I should have said I wasn't going to bother adding canvas for this image. Thanks for taking the time to write up your work flow, great to share information. If I have time later tonight I will do a version with some more breathing room and post it.

[Michael Thompson]

Very nice portrait, nice color and background, cool vine perch