The Swallows are Back

[Sid Overbey]

At last the tree swallows are back in Illinois. I saw this one at one of the nesting boxes at the nature center by our house.
Nikon D70
70-300MM@270
f/7.1
1/800s
iso 400
ev +.03

Thanks.

[Lana Hays]

Sid
It's always a treat to see the first tree swallows of the season.....no matter how lousy the weather there is hope that spring is near. Beautiful colors. I might have cropped a little more off the left. I think the biggest drawback to this one is the head is turned too far back....leaving the head even softer than the bird. A little more USM might help this one but it won't change the head turn. Since they're back.....I'd be waiting to get some more images of these guys.....they do light up in the sunlight.

[Robert Amoruso]

I like the framing and pose of the bird. The head turn away left it OOF. I would recommend that in situations like this, get this image and then wait for the head turn - assuming it comes. Also, choose a AF point near the head/eye and keep it trained on that part of the bird, that way you get critical sharpness there. Using all AF points will cause the camera to pick a closer point to focus on. Here, the bird house may get grab. Doesn't look liked that happened but something to be aware of.