Yellow-headed Blackbird

[David Salem]

Wanted to say thanks to everyone for the response and helpful input on my last YHBB post. Looked back to the shots I took last spring of this guy and wanted to post this one to show the better detail of this beautiful bird.
Processed as Arash suggested using DPP instead and kept a light hand on the PP. Hope it looks better. I did post a similar shot a while back with a different crop and different processing.

7D---700mm---f7.1---ss1/1000---ISO400---car as blind w/BLUBB

Thanks as always for looking and for your input. Appreciated.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Excellent portrait, David. the light, details, head turn, chest feathers, black details( without blowing the yellows), composition, BG...good shot all around. Well done.

I also use DPP and like it a lot. pretty good for a free software, I'd say.

[arash_hazeghi]

the difference between this and the last pose is day and night. head is so much sharper.

I am glad it worked for you!

[David Salem]

Thanks a lot Arash. Appreciated very much. Thanks also Kaustubh for the nice comment.

[PhilCook]

Great profile shot, and looks like the HA is about as good as it gets, I think some of the plumage, mostly the blacks is verging on a little soft, but only in a slight way....wonderful isolation from backdrop.

{ Drat !....we only get black Blackbirds here and they are a pest lol }

[Bill Dix]

Lots of detail in this one, for sure. Lovely image in all respects. Well done.

[Nick Palmieri]

Real nice bird. Way to retain the yellow. Head is nice and sharp, I like the perch and BG. I use to use DPP and after seeing some of the work people are doing with it, it may be time for a revisit...TFS

[John Cooper]

Yes David you nailed the PP with this one. A lovely portrait of this stunning bird showing good feather detail, exposure and HA. The soft, featureless BG makes a wonderful backdrop for the blackbird. Well done!

[dankearl]

Nice muted look. Excellent sharpness on this one.
Maybe just a tad brighter?

[christopher galeski]

nice one David,nice pose,good detail,big improvement in quality on the other one.thanks.

[Satish Ranadive]

David:
Wonderful Profile shot of this beautiful bird.
Love the pose,nice details in blacks and yellows,nice perch and BG.

Regards,
Satish.

[Don Nelson]

Much better than before.
Excellent pose and good IQ.
If it were mine, I'd sharpen the area around the eye just a bit. Something like this:

[David Salem]

Thanks again everyone for the comments. Appreciated
Thanks Don for time to the re-post on the image. Looks great. Like the improvements you have made on other posts too. If you dont mind me asking, what did you do? I would have used the lasso tool and highlighted the whole black area around the eye, then sharpened. Not sure if thats correct or there is a better way. Love to know. Thanks in advance

[Don Nelson]

David
Send me a PM with your actual email address, and I will send details on what I did.
Don