Blue Bird Male with insect

[Amol Khedgikar]

POsting another one from my blue bird series.

7D+500+1.4X, F8, ISO 800, 1/250, Flash.

PP- Cropped for comp. trimmed 2 perch arms, NR in Define.

[Alan Murphy]

Nice clean image. A little too much flash IMO. The morsel adds a lot.

[Karl Egressy]

Nice image, The food item in the beak adds interest. I would go darker on the perch.

[gail bisson]

I really like the pose and the food but am not loving the perch.It is quite bright and large.
The IQ of the bird seems off. Is this a big crop? It may just be oversharpened and/or overflashed.
I would rework the bird in PP and maybe thin down the branch with cloning,
Gail

[Melissa Groo]

I really like the opposing direction of the curving lines here made by bird and branch, very artistic. I would maybe in Levels darken a little so flash effect is not so strong. And tone down the perch. The prey item is a really nice touch.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Beautiful bird and yes, the prey item(s) is a nice bonus. I like the tip of the perch but find the rest of it large and distracting in its placement running upwards. The image does have the flashed look, at least the steel-eye should be easy to fix. One last thing for me is that I feel the head is twisted back a bit too much. You did get some nice details, and the comp is well cropped.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Amol, good look back pose, and Ive always enjoyed the colours on this species. Great idea from Gail to 'thin down' the perch, and agree, toning down the bluebird wont harm either. His food item a bonus, and well captured.

[Satish Ranadive]

Beautiful image of beautiful bird.Love the pose,colors and details. Rest is mentioned already.

Regards,
Satish.

[Amol Khedgikar]

Thanks you all for the critique , Reposting with suggested changes- Thinned the perch Down, Darkened it a little with the bird. Enhanced the catchlight. What do you all think now?

Dan I agree that the Perch cutting right through the middle of the frame but there was no other way apart from not getting the shot at all.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Great repost. I like the head turn and pray is a bonus. Nice clean BG and flash work. I would prefer the bird was on a smaller perch but that's may be for a future one! keep them coming.