Savannah Sparrow (Belding's)

[wendell westfall]

D90 70-200VR+2x@400 1/4000 f/8 ISO800 -2/3EV handheld

Today I found this little guy and his buddies eating among the red ice plant. (I'm told the plant is growing like crazy and crowding out too many others, by the way) This image is cropped 50%, but has almost no other adjustments. I'd be particularly interested to know what you think of the presence of the blue in the upper right corner and the black blob in front of the bird -- should they be removed? If so, how would you do it?

Wendell

PS: We do have some Belding's around here, but I'm not comfortable with a positive ID for that species.

[Mike Milicia]

The inclusion of the plant adds a great deal here and I don't find the blue and black that distracting.
I am bothered more by the bright white areas in the BG rock and might tone those down a bit.
Also wish the head was not angled quite so much.

[Daniel Cadieux]

The blue doesn't bother me much either - it kinda balances with the red vegetation in the opposite corner. I do find the black "blob" a bit much. The clone tool at no more than 50% opacity should work well...remember to use a soft brush though (30-40%) as using a hard brush leaves obvious clone mark outlines.

[wendell westfall]

Mike and Daniel, OK, the blue stays and the black goes, and the bright white areas go, too. I had tried the Blur tool without success. but the Clone tool with that soft brush did the trick. Thanks for the input . . .