I believe that this is an Eastern Phoebe, although I'm not 100% sure.
Processed in LR4 for exposure, WB, sharpening, levels adjustment, PS6 to darken the background, cloned out a branch that was just above the bird.
I'm pretty happy with the composition and the image in general, but I'm not sure about the adjastments, particularily the background adjestment. I think that it nes a lttle more someting to bring the bird out of the background. I'm also wondering if a little tighter crop would be better, I may have too much room on the right.
Colin, I *think* that's an Eastern Phoebe, but I'm no expert. I think a tighter crop would work. I did a quick edit to bring the bird up on the branch instead of so centered on it. As for the background, I did a little cloning with different flow/opacity to smooth it out a bit. I also brightened up the lower right hand corner. Again, it was just a quick edit to give you another idea. I like the tones and think you did well overall. Nice detail in the feathers too.
Colin, the exposure techniques look good. I like the background and perch. It's a pretty bird (but I'll leave ID to others) and I think the repost improves it significantly. I think that it would be a stronger image if the bird were facing towards the viewer rather than away (see multiple discussions on BPN on head angle - http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...le-Fine-Points ). Good job!
Jeannen, thanks for the comments and suggestion. I really like the to the crop and background.
Ian, I understand the preference for the bird to oriented facing the camera. I've got another image of this one that is a little better in that respect, but the part of the tail is behind a branch and there is a shadow across the body. Because of that, I felt that this was the better image to post.
I like the bokeh a lot but agree that the bird does not pop as it should. I would make a duplicate, desature it or change its hue and then add this as a layer. Then with the eraser tool bring out the bird. I love how sharp it is considering the small size of this fellow.
Eastern Phoebe ??
