A Splendid meal !

[PhilCook]

From my last venture into the outback camping at Hattah Kulkyne N.P.

Male Splendid Fairy-wren that was oddly living in the sand dunes in the desert lands along with a small family group of immature males and females....seems flies are big on the menu in the arid lands.

Canon 7D + 500 f4.....f5, 1/500, ISO 200, no flash, tripod mounted shot.....largish crop, a few oof twigs removed from backdrop, selective sharpen and noise reduction, slight tweak on highlights

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

Nicely done ...

[Frank Schauf]

Excellent details, love the perch, great pose and very nice background.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Fantastic subject! Nice perch too, and the prey item is a nice bonus for sure. Beautiful BG to boot. I find the contrast a touch strong, and a bit better HA would have been perfect (but still OK as is).

[vishaljadhav]

Nice subject, the colors looks great , and the catch in the beak makes it interesting
BG is lovely along with a nice perch
I like it

[David Salem]

Love this species and congrats on the IOTY featuring this species. Looks great especially with the insect in his mouth. Nice perch and BG too. Nice work

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Phil, love the colours on this little guy - very striking, and yes, his meal a bonus. Interesting looking perch with the bark peeling off, and I like the BG too.

[Marina Scarr]

Well done on this one, Phil, especially getting it with the meal. It appears as though critical focus is on the rear of the bird as evidenced by those awesome details in it's butt feathers. :) Lovely BG and overall a nice image.

[Richard Unsworth]

Unusual angle, different and fits the scene. Prey item adds, BG lovely. Perch is interesting too!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very colourful little bird, detail looks good but if you are hinting the crop is large I think that the bird could still look good if the crop was a tad less. The contrast looks high, I can't say much more because I have never seen this bird but the darks are very dark, the highlights look good.

[gail bisson]

First of all a big congrats on winning the Eager to learn category!
I love the BG and the prey in the mouth.
I find the image a bit contrasty and wish for a bit less butt and more face!
Gail

[PhilCook]

First of all a big congrats on winning the Eager to learn category!
I love the BG and the prey in the mouth.
I find the image a bit contrasty and wish for a bit less butt and more face!
Gail

hehehehe....I thought he had a cute butt lol

Not sure why it looks a bit contrasty, none was applied in PS....but I do tend to find the birds in the harsh and desolate regions here tend to look rather coarse in plumage

[Shawn Zierman]

Gorgeous subject. It's hard not to like any splendid fairy wren image...they are so pretty!
You've received great feedback already, I'll just second that I wish for a better head and
body angle here. Nice perch and great background control. Prey item shows well and
adds to the success of the image. Toning down the brighter areas on the perch is worth
considering...

[Melissa Groo]

Huge congrats on your Eager to Learn winner! Amazing shot. This is wonderful too, the prey adds a lot to an image already lovely for its cocky pose, colors, and background.

[Satish Ranadive]

Phil:
Wonderful image of beautiful bird with great IQ.
Love the colors,perch,bg and composition.

Regards,
Satish.