Green bee eater

[Abhijit Deshpande]

Hello,
Posting a little Green bee eater posing the early morning light.
Canon EOS 7D, Canon 500 mm f/4, @ f/4,1/3200,ISO160, manual exposure, Adobe RGB colour space. Minimal colour & contrast adjustments in PS ( i am a dummy at Photoshop per se & in Post processing in general).
All comments & critique is welcome.
Any errors on my part be forgiven.
Looking forward to some exciting comments.
Regards
Abhijit:S3:

[arash_hazeghi]

handsome bird Abhijit, nice BG too. I wish the branch had not intersected with the tail and the image is a bit dark

TFS

[Abhijit Deshpande]

Hello,
Honoured by your critique. Will act on that. I think i have an image as you describe it. Will increase the exposure just a tad. Thanks again for your inputs
Abhijit

[Glenn Pure]

Wow, this one has a lot going for it Abhijit. Bird is simply stunning and background gorgeous. I like the pose too. But as noted by Arash, it is a little dark at present. I'd also play with the composition to add a little to the top and right and a bit off the left and bottom - if you have the frame. Definitely a shot worth spending a bit more effort on.

[Noel Heustis]

Beautiful subject, beautiful background. From the looks of your watermark signature, it looks like you have plenty of talent with graphics. Was that done in PS? Thanks for sharing.

[Abhijit Deshpande]

Hi Noel,
Thanks for your praise. The concept was mine on paper, i drew it for a guy who then refined it digitally. He sent me the .png file & i now put it onto the images. I do know the use of layers to an extent, i can do it with fits & starts. So , considering the illuminati here, i consider myself a PS dummy.
Yet thanks for the kind words on my signature. I will convey it to the appropriate party. Thanks for looking in at the image

[Abhijit Deshpande]

Hey Glenn,
Thanks for stopping by & appreciating my work.
Will certainly work on this one & try and make your suggestions work in!
Thanks:cheers:
Abhijit

[William Dickson]

I really like this. The DOF with the bird, where it's at, works well. Nice work Abhijit. Hope you don't mind. I shifted the curves slightly, what do you think.

172415

[Tim Foltz]

Abhijit, beautiful bird, nice details, but under exposed, also the bird is too centered, needs a bit more room on the right.

-Tim

[Abhijit Deshpande]

Hi William,
Thanks for your kind words. & as for your working on it, well that is the very reason i am here- to learn from all you guys. I like what you have done, makes it brighter & more catchy. SO, thanks for that.
Regards
Abhijit

[Abhijit Deshpande]

Hi Tim,
Thanks! & yes i did try that, it does ,look good. Will post a better one next up. Thanks for the encouragement & the critique.
Regards
Abhijit

[Arthur Morris]

Used a series of small Quick Masks to eliminate the merged branch. The pulled the Curve up and lightened the pupil.

As for the image, the dark shadow on the upper back (due to the light being from our left) really bugs me. Otherwise the image is wonderful and so is the bird. And sharp. All as detailed here (http://birdsasart-shop.com/the-birds-as-art-current-workflow-e-guide-digital-basics-ii/).

with love, artie

[Abhijit Deshpande]

Thanks Arthur. Honoured by your critique. Excellent education for me first up today. Will keep the lighting in mind next i go for a shoot.
Thanks & regards
Abhijit