Hazel Grouse

Hi together,

the picture shows a Hazel Grouse (male) in an aviary in the NP Bayerischer Wald (Germany) - April 2007.
Technical data: Canon Eos 1DMkII, Sigma 4,5/500 EX HSM, Iso 800, 1/250, f5.

Thanks for looking

Cheers
Tassilo

I like it a lot !!! Bird well exposed and sharp Sure wish you did not have those oof areas at the base !!! I like the placement very much and the space given to the bird in frame !!!

Nice details and BG. I agree regarding the OOF grass in the foreground and wish the sun would have been behind you. I would crop some off the top and apply some NR on the BG.

Too many acronyms? Check here: :)
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ad.php?t=12682

Thanks for your comments !

I will try another crop and reduce the noise.
I am still learning in postprocessing the pictures, so your opinions are very appreciated.

And thanks again to Fabs for her Acronym List :)

Cheers
Tassilo

Here a new version:
Crop some of the out-of-focus-area in front, using little noise reduction & other sharpening, and tried some removing of the white patches in the bottom left corner.
Comments and critiques are very welcome
Best regards
Tassilo

The repost looks much better, I would give it a bit more space at the left, not much though.

Tassilo
The repost is much better. It removes much of the OOF foreground, leaving a small patch that could probably be changed with the patch tool. I'd add a little room back to the left as well. What I like most about the crop is that it really showcases the bird and his detail. Well done.

Repost looks great. Agree about a little more space on the left. Like the soft light, really brings out the colors.