Black-necked Stilt

[Jack Backs]

Missouri's not exactly a hotbed of shore bird activity this time of year, but I was able to locate a few Black-necked Stilts at a
local conservation area. Some fairly accommodating birds. Dragonfly larvae I believe. Primarily processed with Topaz DeNoise AI.
Nikon D500, 500mmF4VRII, TC-14EIII
f6.3, 1/2500s, iso640

[arash_hazeghi]

looks good, especially the prey item. in a perfect world the head would have angled a bit towards eye for a stronger connection. there is small halo above the stilt's head, could be a reflection. I wish the blue band in the BG wasn't going through the head. you got pretty good details through, the shoulder are might could be raised a touch. nice whites



TFS

[gail bisson]

This is fantastic Jacks.
Love the 3 layered BG.
IQ is good with lots of good details.
Love that big ol' bug.
I rarely do this myself, but I would do some eye work ie: lighten the iris and darken the pupil. I think it would make the image even more engaging.
Gail

[Brian Sump]

A very cool image Jack. Great detail and not an insect I've seen many of in the mouth of a bird.

I agree that a slight head turn would have been nice. I also wonder if you can safely raise the shadows just a touch?

Perhaps a small cloning remnant just out from the crown of the head.

TFS

[David Roach]

Great close view. Love the eye and the prey. I also love the patch of blue for reference to the environment. TFS

[John Mack]

Very nice portrait here. I like the prey and that multi colored background is quite nice. Detail on the bird looks good.

[Robert Kimbrell]

Love the image Jack. The colors look good and the prey item is Superb. I am with Gail on lightening the iris.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Beautiful close-up portrait, and a great frame for the theme! I too caught a glimpse of what appears to be a faint cloning mark in front of the forehead, but all else looks super form my end.

[Dorian Anderson]

Nice close view with excellent detail. Bug adds interest for sure, and I really like the green glow below. A bit more head turn would be nice as others have said. Might shift the crop to move him toward the center. Right now the bird feels
like a bit of an afterthought compared to the bug!

[Arthur Morris]

Agree with all the comments good and bad above -- mostly good :) One thing that folks might not have realzied is that if the bird's head were turned 2-3 degrees more toward you the entire iriss would have lit up red ...

with love, artie

ps; I love the bug; does anyone knoow for ssure what it is?

[Jack Backs]

I'm certain this is a dragonfly larvae after doing a google image search. Unfortunately this was the best head angle of the entire series, it was mostly turned away from me.