First Post

[Paul Merritt]

I am very excited about this site. I am sure I will learn a great deal here. I primarily shoot wildlife and nature and birds are my favorite subjects. I took this image last year on a frigid day in early March. Taken in Av Mode ISO 100 1/800 sec f/5.6 Canon 20D w/400 f/5.6 Comments and criticism more than welcome.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h33/Airedale1/cedarwax1.jpg

[Fabs Forns]

Hi Paul and red carpet welcome to BPN

We are also very excited about this :)

Great action you manged to get.

The light looks a bit harsh and wish you had a bit of flash to help bring the shadow up a little bit. Maybe a bit of Shadow/Highlight,
without abusing, will help.
Wish for more room all around and maybe using Gaussian blur on the background.

We hope to be able to help you improve your skills!!!

[Samuel Mulder]

Very nice shot of this species! I like the background and the little fluff of feathers caught on the branch is interesting. It's hard to tell from the web-sized photo, but it looks like maybe you grabbed focus on the breast and the eye is just a touch out.

[Paul Merritt]

Fabs and Samuel thank you so much for taking the time to critique my image. I am going to love it here. BTW Fabs I visited your blog and watched all the videos. It is below zero here today, watching the videos was like a vacation. The alligator farm is amazing. I also visited your website. Incredible work, you are very gifted.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Welcome Paul to BPN. I We are all excited too!!

Very nice action in this capture and beautiful eye contact. I agree about a little more room all around and the suggestion Fab made about using the Gaussian blur could work well as the BG detracts somewhat from this lovely capture, Thanks for sharing Paul.

[Jim Neiger]

Hi Paul,

I like the pose, behavior, and colors in this image. As mentioned the bg is a bit busy and distracting. Welcome to BPN!