Young Bluebird in Winter

[Bill Dix]

D90; 80-400 VR @ 360 mm. ISO 800. f/6.3 @ 1/2000s. -0.7 EV. HH.

Took a walk late yesterday afternoon along a frozen lakeshore, and came across five Eastern Bluebirds; then a few minutes later another ten. Fifteen in one day! They wouldn't stay put for me to get as close as I would have liked -- this is cropped to about 45% of original width -- and I had to clone out some distracting OOF branches. C&C appreciated.

[Alfred Forns]

Excellent colors and complementing bg Bill !!! Good PS work, very natural looking !!

In this case a slight more of a head turn would get the tip of the beak even with the eye and render it sharper !!! Excellent image !!!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Eye contact and exposure look good, I might increase saturation a few points and maybe you can get one to pick a branch that is a bit lower.

[Phil Ertel]

Hi Bill, Nice image. I like the composition. I agree with all the positive comments above. In addition to the suggests above my I suggest that a slight increase in contrast. I took the image into Photoshop and bumped up the saturation about 12 points and then increased the contrast by moving the white (to 245) and black points (to 12) using a curve adjustment layer. I thought it made the image pop a little more. Just a suggestion as I think your presentation is pretty nice. Thanks for sharing.

[Aidan Briggs]

Hey Bill, I think this is one of your best! The bird is sharp and well exposed. The PS work is undetectable. I agree with both Axel and Alfred's suggestions, but this is a fine shot as is.

[Bill Dix]

Excellent colors and complementing bg Bill !!! Good PS work, very natural looking !!

In this case a slight more of a head turn would get the tip of the beak even with the eye and render it sharper !!! Excellent image !!!

Thanks Alfred. I noticed that the bill was a bit soft, and figured the HAP would nab me. I appreciate the comments; thanks for looking.

[Bill Dix]

Eye contact and exposure look good, I might increase saturation a few points and maybe you can get one to pick a branch that is a bit lower.

Thanks Axel. I'll try a boost of saturation. I was afraid it might look unnatural. As these guys moved down the path ahead of me, one would occasionally perch in a lower branch, but would scoot off before I got into range. I'll need to work on my bird whisperer techniques.

[Bill Dix]

Hi Bill, Nice image. I like the composition. I agree with all the positive comments above. In addition to the suggests above my I suggest that a slight increase in contrast. I took the image into Photoshop and bumped up the saturation about 12 points and then increased the contrast by moving the white (to 245) and black points (to 12) using a curve adjustment layer. I thought it made the image pop a little more. Just a suggestion as I think your presentation is pretty nice. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Phil. I'll go back to the TIFF file tomorrow when I get some time, and give it a try. I had feared making the image look artificial but it sounds as if a bit of a boost will help. I appreciate the helpful comments.

[Bill Dix]

Hey Bill, I think this is one of your best! The bird is sharp and well exposed. The PS work is undetectable. I agree with both Axel and Alfred's suggestions, but this is a fine shot as is.

Aidan - I appreciate the kind comments. The longer I participate in BPN the more I learn. Thanks for looking.

[Chris Zink]

I agree with some of the others' comments. You might try Viveza to increase saturation of some of the colors selectively.

Chris Zink

[Mark Adkins]

Agree with above. I would probably crop a bit on the left, but this is personal preference.

Mark

[Bill Dix]

Thank you all. Here's a repost with some additional saturation (bird and perch), contrast via curves (bird and perch) and a slight additional crop. I also cleaned up the edges of the bill to make it look a bit sharper. I appreciate the helpful comments. I do believe the additional sat and contrast made a difference.

[Phil Ertel]

Hi Bill, The changes are subtle (good thing) and I agree with you that I think the enhancements improved the presentation.

[James Salywoda]

Gorgeous Shot! Excellent colors and detail Bill well done.