Malachite Kingfisher & spider

Well here goes!.........Have been viewing this forum nearly a year now and have learnt a massive amount on avian photography . Time to test the waters [ A Kingfisher shot seems appropriate]. This shot was taken in the Kruger National Park, just outside Skukuza camp in a hide. Have been loving/hating my 7D this last two years.....
Techs: 7D, 400mm f5.6, Speed 800, F8, ISO400, AV, AI Servo, MA +7
Adobe Elements 11: Cropped, Cloned some vegetation out, Sharpened, NR

Just viewed this on the forum and it is soft as butter!.......sorry, can someone help!

Thanks for viewingAttachment 129607

Hi Brian, dont run yourself down too much, I dont feel this is soft at all, infact, the MK is pretty sharp with good DOF. Good pose and HA showing off his catch, and love the ant on the blade of the reed. We have no control where our subjects are going to perch, so although the surrounding FG and BG are a touch busy, thats the african bush for you. Lake Panic ??? :w3

Great looking shot Brian. Nice colors and exposure. Love the spider in its mouth. Yes it dose look a bit soft to me. It took me some time to figure out how much sharpening to add to my photos that I posted. Takes a bit more than you might think even if your file looks sharp. Keep playing with it and keep looking at the preview and you will figure how much you need for each shot. Nice work.

Thanks Stuart & David, I was a bit disappointed with my first post looking so soft. Stuart yes you are spot on "Lake Panic" a brilliant hide for aquatic birds. David thanks for your tip on sharpening for the web........I will try harder next time! Cheers, Brian

Great shot.
You captured a great moment.
The spider really adds interest to an already great shot.
I like the habitat and another round of sharpening should do the trick.
Very well done.

Beautiful image of beautifully colored bird in very nice habitat. IQ is very good.
Love the colors,lights,spider and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

Hey Brian, glad you are taking the plunge. Great colours, and a well balanced composition. I like the perch (the shadow of the spider on it is so cool!!) and the surrounding green grasses add a nice touch too. It's only the "bamboo" stick pointing to the spider that I wish was not there (and also the large OOF BG circle between the grass blades). Neat to see another little insect crawling on the vegetation...