Found This One....

[Arthur Morris]

I was finalizing my Galapagos images for transfer and I came across this one that rather caught my fancy. Swallow-tailed Gull, Darwin Bay. Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO lens with the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/2000 sec. at f/4.

Don't be shy; all comments welcome.

[Jan Wegener]

awesome image. The pose is to die for :)

I see a strong black Halo around the white parts, especially the back of the wings. And the edges look a bit like you've toned down the whites. White bird on a dark green BG is alay tricky in that regard.
I am surprised that you didn't clone out the little piece of tail sticking out of the gull's head. I would have thought that is something that bothers you.
Hope you don't mind my critic :)

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

I really like the pose,eye contact and the wing position...
agree for the little piece of tail

[Jan Wegener]

that would be my suggestion. Lightened the Bg a bit, added saturation, got rid of the halos and the piece of tail. As well as the BG noise.

Does mine look to light/saturated on your screen? I was just wondering, because yours looks so dark on mine...aybe we have a discrepancy there.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Beautiful mood Guru, also loved the expo...

[Ken Watkins]

The difference between the OP and repost is very interesting, I prefer the bird in the OP and the BG in the repost.

The bird has much more oomph in the OP, but then again it might be my monitor, I also prefer the "distincter" edges.

[Chris van Rooyen]

I prefer the repost, sharpening on the original is a little strong for me. Great filtered light and perfect background.

[Jim Fenton]

Beautiful subject and nice pose....I really like those lovely red eye rings :)

Agree that the original is a tad over sharpened.

Personally, I like the original as far as colors go. The repost, at least on my monitor at work does look overly saturated.

Somehow, especially with the subject looking down coming in for a landing, my brain wants to have it a bit higher in the frame.

[Bill Dix]

I love these swallow-tails - such photogenic birds. Personally I like the OP - exposure looks good on my screen. I'll even vote for the little bit of tail showing left of the head, since it completes the fan. Agree with Jim about a tad more space on the bottom. All a matter of personal preference, I guess.

[James Salywoda]

I like the original as I think the bird pops a bit more on the darker bg fantastic image.

[Stu Bowie]

Good placement in the frame, and those red eye rings really stand out so well. Love the overall flight posture with the dangling legs.

[Geoff Warnock]

You caught a lovely pose Arthur and I also think the red eye rings are excellent. I'm undecided on the sliver of tail since it is a natural part of the bird, but I do quite like the image without it.

[Charles Wesley]

Artie,

Great repost. That look is to die for. Really love your sense of color. Thanks for sharing...
_________________________

Charlie Wesley
St. Augustine Beach, FL
http://naturesphotographs.com

[Art Kornienko]

I do like the pose too and the eye contact with lovely contrasting colours in the bg. Touch more space right side?

[Arthur Morris]

awesome image. The pose is to die for :) I see a strong black Halo around the white parts, especially the back of the wings. And the edges look a bit like you've toned down the whites. White bird on a dark green BG is alay tricky in that regard. I am surprised that you didn't clone out the little piece of tail sticking out of the gull's head. I would have thought that is something that bothers you. Hope you don't mind my critic :)

Thanks Jan. The halo was likely introduced by my generic JPEG sharpening via action as it is not on the RAW. :o I would never steal a bird's tail :) I welcome all honest critiques and yours fits the bill so thanks again.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks all for your kind comments. Jan, mine looks a bit dark, yours a bit light but you did a great job eliminating the halo.

[Jan Wegener]

:) :)