Quail at the watering hole

[Enrique Patino]

I've been visiting this watering hole in hopes of photographing finches and cedar waxwings. Problem is that these are there in good numbers in the middle of the day. This quail was waiting there for me today. A bit of harsh light, but ... see what you think. C&C welcome.

7D, 300mm + 1.4X TC, ISO 400, 1/1000, f/5.6, evaluative metering, AV, +.67, ~75% FF, worked a bit of the highlights for whites and yellow on the branches. Removed a couple of distracting elements in the BG

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Lucky you, Enrique! Lovely bird, bg and eye contact.
I'd probably boost the contrast and sharpen the bird to give this more pop.
Composition is nice, but I'd move him a bit to the left.

[Stu Bowie]

Enrique, the quail stands out nicely from the busy perch, and against the smoth BG. A good looking species, and I agree with Sid that a touch of contrast will work, together with some selective sharpening. The space around the quail is perfect.:w3

[Ben_Sadd]

I think the placement of the bird in the frame is good as it is. I really like the background, lovely colours. The head and its features do look a little soft, could also be an illusion due to the contrast though. I wonder if the focus point was actually on the head of the bird?

[Michael Lotito]

Fantastic!

[Enrique Patino]

Thanks for your comments/feedback... is this better?

[Grace Scalzo]

Great job with the repost. My only observation is that the perch is quite dominant and a bit messy looking. But the bird is sweet.

[Arthur Morris]

Much better. I do not mind the perch at all. I would pull down the curve a bit and then add a bit of black to the blacks and neutrals in Selective Color.

[Enrique Patino]

Thanks Grace and Artie.
I was out all weekend.
I ran a linear contrast in "curves" (CS5- pulled down a bit in the darks and up a bit in the lights) and added +2 balck in neutrals and blacks. Looks less "washed out" ... is it too dark now? getting down to fine-tuning here, but would very much welcome your opinion...
thanks!

99121

[Arthur Morris]

I like it right now. It is a huge improvement from the OP.

[Enrique Patino]

Thanks, I appreciate your help.

[Arthur Morris]

YAW; I appreciate your being a good student :)