STANDING PERFECTLY STILL

D300 200-400VR 1.4 ISO800 F/5.6 1/1000 BOAT HANDHELD

He was sure I wouldn't see him as I slipped by in the boat. I wasn't crazy about the BG but it was what it was.

Bill:

This fellow does look like he thought he could blend in!

He is sharp, nice head angle, I like his crest showing at the rear of his head.

If it were mine, I would clone out the stick on the right, and if you have it, give him a smidge more room at the bottom. The background is OK for me.

Thanks for sharing.

Randy

BG is OK with me too. It seems like the gray could use some density. Try adding a few points of black to the neutrals in Selective Color.

Cousin Fabs

Except for the sharpness, I will have to disagree with Randy here. The light is relatively harsh, the bird's head is turned away, and the BKGR does not work for me. And the bird needs a lot more room below as it looks as if one toe is clipped.

Maybe you should have tempted the bird to a better perch with a tuna fish sandwich. (Sorry Bill, I could not resist!)

Sorry Charlie. :D But I do agree with your critique and the other suggestions. I will go to work. Thanks guys - Bill

I forgot to mention the whitewash on the perch.

Charlie

It was trash - I have reworked it from RAW. I have included the original full frame to see what I was up against.

Here is stick city. What can I say?

The huge crop is better but image quality suffers as expected. The HA is still the HA.

Thanks you guys as always. It's like they say, it's not like hand grenades, almost doesn't get it. Back to the field for a better day.

I hear you. I went out the last two mornings here (near my home in Central Florida) where the liviing is supposed easy, the birds tame, and the backgrounds pure. I kept exaclty one image....

This was the only thing left I could think of to save it. Is it worth keeping? I will have to print it and then stare at it awhile. :)

Wow, you did some work with the BG, proud of you!!!
Only thing that I'd complain about is the head angle, You even managed to bypass the strong light, great post processing :)

PS: Alfred IS watching :eek::p:D