finches in the typha

[Dejan Stojanovic]

Hi all,
a pic from a trip to the northern territory-these are chestnut breasted (above) and yellow rumped mannakins (below) flitting around a reed bed at a stormwater drain in a place called Katherine. the photo was taken around midday but in dappled shade.
Likes: i initially didnt like the messy look of the reeds, but they have grown on me and i like the context they give the birds, the singing top bird (but he probably needs a catchlight for the eye). Dislikes: the head position of the lower bird,the annoying leaf in front of the seed head.

http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt15/DejanStojanovic/yellowrumpedandchestnutbreastedmann.jpg

Eos 5D,f/7.1, 1/400sec, ISO 125 and 400mm. no flash or crop.
comments welcome.
D

[Daniel Cadieux]

Dejan, I like the setting alot, but this image is screaming out for a good crop from the right (at least half of the space at right could and should go) and some from bottom too to then balance it out. This will liven up the comp big time and de-center the subjects. They are both looking towards the left and are relatively small in the frame thus justifying placing them to the right of the frame with this vertical crop. A good round of sharpening would also help. The top bird already has a faint reflection in its eye that can easily be "dodged" to life. Lots of potential here!!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great find and light. I agree regarding a tighter crop and more sharpening.