Bull-headed Shrike at Dawn

A female Bull-headed Shrike (Lanius bucephalus) welcoming the sunrise. One of the noisiest of the wetland and open field species in Japan, they can make quite a racket!

This photo was originally vertical aspect and has been slightly cropped. I also changed the WB to "shade" +15 using LightRoom 3. NR and masked sharpening has also been applied in LR3. I also cloned out one of the out of focus highlight circles that was at the top center using PSE 9. Comments welcomed!

Canon EOS 7D, EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM, 1.4x TC, handheld
1/640 sec at f/5.6; ISO 160

http://www.wrightphotography.com.au/...t-dawn-bpn.jpg

Nice early morning mood to your image. Vertical was the way to go, kudos on flipping the camera! I'd try darkening the darker tones, and I'd crop even more at top (about halfway between the top edge and top of reed-tip) to place the subject closer to the corner. Some of the brighter circles in LRC could be toned down too. Good concept overall.:cool: