Richard,
Magnificent portrait.I like the sharpness on face and head,nice lights and the tiny spider.Birds pops up nicely on artistic background.
I Would go for square composition by cropping at bottom up to tip of white lining of wing in the center.( I have tried the version,looks very nice).
They are ideed very handsome birds. I like the bird's pose and eye. I would crop on top and try not to sharpen much. The spider above the vulture's head is a nice plus.
Richard. I always like the details on these much maligned birds. The spider is cool, but I am not sure how much it adds or distracts here. I agree on potentially cropping from the bottom for a squarer crop. I can't quite put my finger on whether it is sharpening or contrast that is a little over the top, but something makes this look a little "crunchy" around on on the bird's head.
OK recop and much less processing, basically NR and sharped with a small pull down on curve +2 on sel black which I think defines that head detail
however can understand why it is being seen as over sharp, those textures on face are very strong/contrasty
Last edited by Richard Unsworth; 09-19-2012 at 03:21 PM.