Northern Parula tree ornament

[Bill Dix]

Another from Acadia. I spent two hours working this one bird, but never got the shot that I envisioned. After hearing this guy sing and determining the general area that he favored, I counted approximately one gazillion possible places where he might perch in the spruce forest. Only a few of them offered the possibility of a clean shot and uncluttered bg, so I did my best to entice him onto one of those, to no avail. I think he used most of the other gazillion. Still, I was pleased to get a few images of this species, which had eluded me previously. C&C appreciated.

D7000, 700mm, ISO 800, 1/320s @ f/7.1 manual, fill @ -1.7, tripod, audio.

[Joe Senzatimore]

This is stunning. well worth the effort. Might take a bit off the top.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I love these little guys and this one os so cute. Great perch and bg. The image looks a little flat or dull to me. Perhaps could use a little brightening or contrast adjustment.

[Karl Egressy]

I like the shot as is, Bill. This guy is very hard to get to a nice and clean spot.

[gail bisson]

I think this is lovely Bill.
You got a nice clean look and I really like the vertical pose.
I might brighten the image a little bit,
Gail

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely image and pose. Great vegetation. I'd brighten it up as well and crop from the top a bit.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks everyone. Cheryl, Prior to posting the OP, I thought the image looked just a little overflashed (despite a rather low fill setting), so I backed off the contrast by about 5 points. I don't know if the flatness you're seeing is the overflash that I noticed (if that's what it was), or the result of my lowering the contrast.

Marina and Gail: Here's a version with a little more brightness overall, and a little off the top. Thanks for the suggestions.