Lapwings turning flight

[Iain Barker]

I took this shot last weekend and am generally happy with it but am unsure about the rocks in the background. The more I look at the image though the more I don't mind the rocks.
I am a bit unsure if I would be better still posting in eager to learn but am keen to get some feedback from the others in the avian forum.

Nikon D7000 300mm F4 AF 1.4x tc ISO 800 1/2000 f5.6 manual metering.
Crop 60% FF, Levels and selective sharpening in LR3

Please feel free to give your C&C positive or negative and I am especially keen to know your thought on the background.

[Nick Palmieri]

Iain, I don't mind the rocks but I think they are a little bright. I think the entire BG could be toned down a bit.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Iain, a typical lapwing inflight pose - always twisting in mid flight. Great that we can see the eye, but the biggest issue here is that the lapwing is flying almost directly away from you. In a perfect world, angled slightly towards you, or at least parallel to you always work better. With regards to your rocks and comp, due to the vertical flight pose, I would crop this to vertical. It would also rid you of your 'uncertain' rocks.

[Daniel Cadieux]

This wingspread really shows just how long the wings are. The subject is sharp, well exposed. Too bad it is angling away from us, but the pose itself is quite dynamic and interesting. IMO the BG is not as bad is you think, but I agree a vertical comp would make for a stronger image. I like the idea of toning down the brighter areas though (the burn tool set to a soft brush with an opacity of 8-10% to midtones should work well).

[Iain Barker]

Thanks all for your tips. I have gone for a tighter vertical crop and darkened the brighter areas of the background using the technique Daniel suggested in this repost.