Cedar wax wing

[Raffi Schayngesicht]

Took this last Dec, @ Gilson Beach Wilmette IL it was a sunny day with snow on the ground in mid afternoon there were 30-40 of them feeding on the berries in this and two other trees nearby... love to hear Comments and suggestions thanks.

D300 lens 120-400 f4.5-5.6
ISO 200 1/400 sec. f6.3 400mm handheld no flash
Cropped to 3477x2848
very minor corrections in Lightroom (waiting to hear what the pros have to say first:w3)

http://rafh2o.smugmug.com/Nature/Birds/i-VKHN6XG/0/XL/Cedar-wax-wing-Gilson-beach-XL.jpg

[Jay Sheinfield]

Beautiful bird, I love these. Nice perch. Sharp! The sunlit berries, specially those OOF ones, pull my eye away from the subtle coloring of the Wax Wing. I would like to see his eye a bit better. If it were mine I would clone out those BG branches in the right and ULC, but that is your call. Just my two cents...........

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Raffi, I love these birds too - so colorful and beautifully marked. Some good points made by Jay. I would definitely lose those branches in the background, an easy fix. The berries are a little bright but they are so typical of where we find these birds and I love the way the colors are echoed in the wing tips. Nice exposure, pose, and composition. Well done!

[Richard Stern]

Hi Raffi,

I don't mind the oof berries, as they are part of the overall scene. However, the waxwing could use some increased vibrance/ contrast and some extra clarity. Otherwise nice details, eye contact, head angle etc.

The oof branches at top left and on the right would look better removed, and the whole image looks quite vignetted, with a dark halo around the edges, and lighter in the middle.

Richard