Superb Fairywren

[Greg Oakley]

Although this is our most common Fairywren species, I have actually had a lot of trouble getting a decent pose - they move pretty fast!
Cape Liptrap Coastal Park, 2/1/13. D800, 300 2.8VRII, 1.7TC, f/8, 1/500, ISO1600.
Thanks, Greg.

[PhilCook]

These birds can be so frustating, most of the time they are very shy, but every now and then they almost walk up and say " take my picture " Interesting comp on top of the dense needles on the bush and sharp detail. The color looks a bit wrong though, it appears more turquoise than the usual navy blue.

[arash_hazeghi]

sweet love the light. raised tail, I also like the inclusion of foreground. sharp.

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot!!!!
I really love the pine needle perch, excellent pose, and terrific comp.
Very well done.

[Satish Ranadive]

Greg:
Beautiful image of beautiful bird.I like the the placement of bird,pose,colors,nice foreground and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Shawn Zierman]

Sweet soft light quality. Excellent side profile. The fg heavy composition works quite well here.
Brilliant image.

[Tony Whitehead]

Great result, Greg. Lovely and sharp and I like the foliage and smooth BG. I would trim a little from below to lose the little brown twig which catches my eye and pulls it away from the bird as it echoes the buff plumage. Is this much of a crop? You may have other crop options from a D800 file depending on how much there is around the bird if it wasn't captured in portrait orientation.

[vishaljadhav]

Aha that a amazing bird you have there
Details , background and the full setup is kinda perfect.
I may try and keep it a horizontal image, but then its preference.

[Jon Swanson]

I really like the inclusion of the habitat in the image. I would consider taking some off the bottom if possible.

[Arthur Morris]

Beautiful bird, pose, colors, and image design. Back in a minute....

[Arthur Morris]

Can anyone spot the two things that I did. One is easy to see. The other should be...

[Arthur Morris]

I really like the inclusion of the habitat in the image. I would consider taking some off the bottom if possible.

Cropping from the bottom would destroy the compositional balance :)

[Jim Neiger]

Artie,

I think you fixed the eye and either increased contrast, did a slight curves adjustment, or decreased brightness.

[Arthur Morris]

Artie, I think you fixed the eye and either increased contrast, did a slight curves adjustment, or decreased brightness.

You got the hard one, the eye. But missed the easy one. If the contrast was increased it was likely due to re-saving the JPEG.

Who's gonna get the easy one?

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Got rid of the twig in the bottom, center?

Sweet pose, gorgeous colors and I love the comp.
I also like the oof part of the perch in the bg. Very nice image.

[Stu Bowie]

Yep, picked up the twig removal before reading Sid's comment.

Now to the image. Greg, you certainly wont miss this guy in the foliage - striking colours. I love how he is holding onto the grasses, and that cocked tail takes this up a notch. I like your comp as is.

[Arthur Morris]

Sid and Stu got #2. The big difference is the eye :)

[gail bisson]

Hi Greg,
This is really unusual.I like the composition very much.
Terrific colors and eye level view.
Gail

[Bill Dix]

Agreed. The comp breaks some rules, and with great results. The beautiful light on the foreground vegetation is as much a part of the image as the beautiful bird. Very nicely conceived.

[Tim King]

One of the best pics I've seen as a member. Fine job.

I like Arthur's eye job.

[dankearl]

The comp and IQ is terrific.
Very nice DOF!

[Jim Neiger]

Artie,

I think you fixed the eye and either increased contrast, did a slight curves adjustment, or decreased brightness.

Bummer! I figured I had them both and quit looking. I noticed the eye right away and them noticed that the blues in the repost were noticably darker after going back and forth looking at the images.

[Greg Oakley]

Thanks very much for the interest guys! And thanks Arthur for the improvements - the eye really looks much better!
I did wrestle with the vertical/horizontal crop decision, but decided on vertical as it just looked a bit different and edgier than a standard horizontal.
Cheers, Greg

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks very much for the interest guys! And thanks Arthur for the improvements - the eye really looks much better! I did wrestle with the vertical/horizontal crop decision, but decided on vertical as it just looked a bit different and edgier than a standard horizontal. Cheers, Greg

YAW Greg. I love the image design that you chose. It does not break any rules that I know :).

Just for the record books, we just released the Complete Digital Eye Doctor MP4 Photoshop Tutorial. Cheap: $9 for more than an hour of looking over my shoulder. See the whole collection as of now here. Lots more coming.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Stunning image...one that will stay in the mind for a long time. Composition is sick....all that sharp FG at the bottom. Well done....what a bird. loved the hint of blue in the tail.