Blue Jay

[Jim Crosswell]

This was taken today at my backyard set-up. It was an overcast morning. The BG is an OOF maple just starting to get some fall colour. All C&Cs are welcome and appreciated.

Canon 1D Mark IV
500L f4
1.4 Extender
ISO 1250
f6.3
1/125s
Ev -1.00
Tripod

[gail bisson]

Hi Jim,
I like this very much.
Great perch and lovely diagonal line.
Awesome BG as well and nice pose and POV.
I would selectively ,ever so slightly, brighten the blue jay. I know you said it was over cast but I think that would make the bird pop more.
Gail

[Bob Serling]

Wow, he really puts the "blue" in blue jay. Beautiful color on the wings. And I love the forward foot and inquisitive head pose. Very nice framing too.

[Satish Ranadive]

Marvelous image.I like the great perch and background.
Love the pose,colors and great details.

Regards,
Satish.

[Mike Milicia]

Nice pose, head angle, BG, and detail!

Might try warming it up just tad.

[Jon Rista]

Wonderful shot, great detail. I like the diagonal perch, very nice touch. I agree with Gail, I'd brighten the bird a bit...its current exposure just feels a bit drab. It could use a little punch.

I really need to get my hands on Alan Murphy's birding guides. I have five Blue Jays in my neighborhood, and they visit my feeders daily, yet I can't ever seem to get them onto one of my perches, or even to perch on a tree branch in a "nice" way. ;) Congrats on your successful bird-herding!

[Jim Crosswell]

Here is a repost incorporating some of the suggestions. Thanks.

[Marina Scarr]

Stunning jay portrait and I like the RP. Your BG is just killer, and I really like the pose and all the details!!!

[Jon Rista]

Excellent! Looks superb, Jim!

[Mike Milicia]

Nice job on the repost!

[Arno Ellmer]

Stunning capture ,Jim. The repost is even better .I love the posture, the perch and bg.Your backyard setup is really working well. Congrats !

[Neil Nourse]

Nice shot Jim.. The re-post brought it to the next level.

Neil

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Jim, absolutely stunning shot. The background in this image is underrated in my opinion. It's just wonderful to see orange, greens, and browns in just the right tonality and size. I may just be jealous bc I'm in florida and we don't have much of the orange. Stunning, stunning photo. Thanks for sharing!

[Bill Jobes]

This is an outstanding photo, Jim. The angular perch position, and the fact you left some room on the right for the jay to walk up the twig.

While the repost has more 'pop,' I tend to favor the original version, which to my eye looks much more natural.

[Cheryl Flory]

oh my, what a great image with that pose, the background, and the view of the back feathers where all the exciting markings are with this bird. Perhaps it is just my monitor, but from here it looks like a little bit of magenta tint on the bird's underside.

[Jim Crosswell]

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions.