Theme: My stick!

[Colin Driscoll]

A fiery-eyed Australian Magpie just playing with a stick, it's a couple of months or more before he will get serious about nest building.
1DXIII 600 f4 III 1.4x III 840mm HH
1/2000 f7.1 iso1250 (auto) -0.7ev
Small crop to taste, reduced afternoon sun slight yellow cast.
Some S&H and light sharpen.

[David Roach]

Very dramatic and cool. I like shimmering breast and the dark face around that fiery eye. The blocked shadows seem to add on this canvas. The BG also adds to feel on this one. Would love a little more on the right and top. Also one where harsh light adds to drama. TFS

[Jonathan Ashton]

The white plumage on the neck does not appear white, I suspect the bill is not pure white but the feathers I don;t know if hey should be?? I think I would be tempted to check the colour balance and see if you could increase exposure and address some of the darker blotches in the background.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Colin, looks overall very dark and agree with Jon, there is a cast to it, tough conditions. If you add some green via the Tint Slider, then use Colour Balance in PS you can get I feel a better uniform colour. Toggling with the HL's, Shadows, Whites & black also helps. Did you do anything to the LHS of the stick, it has a very strange halo/keyline round it.

Not sure if the attached helps in direction.

TFS
Steve

[John Mack]

Well this bird does not look very happy. I like the stick.

[Dorian Anderson]

The image has a strong blue cast which Steve's repost addresses well. The side lighting and resultant shadows are a bigger problem for me; headshots need to be perfectly lit to work. The stick
is also more of a distraction than an addition because its too big and isn't entirely in focus. It cuts right across the bird's face and doesn't work.

[Steve Kaluski]

The image has a strong blue cast which Steve's repost addresses well.

Hi Dorian, it's a Magenta cast rather than a Blue, and thanks. :bg3:

[gail bisson]

I agree that this image has a major purple/magenta cast.
I also feel that the composition is off on this image, because you included the entire stick. A 4 x 6 crop would look much nicer I think.
Portraits of birds are very unforgiving when it comes to shadows on the face. You really need to have perfect light on the subject at these close ranges,
Gail

[Colin Driscoll]

Had it not been for the eye I wouldn't have posted this one.
Under normal light the iris is plain dark brown but the sun angle gave this one some glow.
Anyway here's the shot with colors as they were from the camera with the exception of de-saturating an obvious blue cast on the neck shadow.

[gail bisson]

Repost is a great improvement!