Lost in thought?

[kevinmat]

Female Grackle Portrait - lost in thought!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3545/3346382343_4ee2daf36b_o.jpg

D300 70-200mm VR with 1.7x TC F/5.6 1/200 sec 220mm ISO 220

[Randy Stout]

The framing and head angle does lend to the contemplative mood. Nice detail and sharpness on the bird.

I find the bokeh a bit distracting, because it is so bright relative to the bird. Particularly the area right above the beak and head. Toning that down would return our attention to the bird, not the background.

Thanks for sharing.

Randy

[kevinmat]

Blurred the background with the healing brush in photoshop, adjusted the color and reduced sharpness a little.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3472/3347559668_0b1f7713a8_o.jpg

[Randy Stout]

Kevin:

IMHO, the background is much better, it is in fact now the background, and doesn't call so much attention to itself.

I actually preferred the sharpness of the original bird. It was close to, but not oversharpened for my tastes.

Thanks for the repost, it is a stronger image. Some might argue to tone down the brightness even a bit more (background)

Randy

[Daniel Cadieux]

Yes, the BG is vastly improved on the repost as it was a little too psychadelic at first, but I prefer the "warmth" of the colours of the bird on the original. Although the pose does indeed imply a sense of thought I would still prefer a better head angle, and a bit more room above would give the comp a bit of breathing room.

[Arthur Morris]

Ditto Dan, esp. w regards to head angle; no surprise there. Lightening the iris would give the bird some more life. I like the reposted BKGR.