Eastern Kingbird

[Paul Lagasi]

This morning while braving 36 degree weather searching for warblers to photograph ( I should have dressed warmer), I saw my first Kingbird of the year..he was feeding on the sumac pod...light was crappy, overcast and threatening rain. He stayed long enough for me to take a few shots.

D300
300 2.8 with 1.4 tc
f4
1/200
iso-800
monopod
head lightened a bit to show details
20% crop
6:20am

[Bill Jobes]

Hello Paul,

I can almost feel the cold when looking at this bird!

I like the composition and inclusion of space on left, as it tells the story of the weather nicely.

Was the bird in foggy conditions? If so, that explains the softness, which in this case has an appeal all its own.

That said, I would still consider adding a touch of contrast, as well as mild saturation of the reds in the sumac berries.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hay Paul, beautiful pose and nice perch. Good BG too. I do wish for a bit more room right and bottom (the bird is tight on that side, and I'd like to see more of the perch's stem and no "clipped" leaves). the blacks and midtones definitely need to go darker (the whites are fine). There is also a fair bit of noise - was the image originally underexposed?

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the eye contact and perch and agree with Daniel regarding crop, noise and it does look a bit flat. Midtones and/or contrast adjustment might help.

[Paul Lagasi]

Thanks..
Bill: Wasn't foggy but misty morning...overcast...
Dan: The only part of the image that was overexposed was the head, I masked the area and lightened..pm me and I can send you original by email if you have time to look, maybe you can see why so noisy.
Axel: How do you adjust midtones? Do you mean centre slider on Levels?

Re-worked image has no sharpening applied and above suggestions...thank you

Maybe I am cropping to much...and I should stick to one computer...

[Don Anderson]

I like the 2nd better, but now the eye is somewhat lost. If there is more room on the
bottom, I'd add it. keep the crop tall and thin. I like the feel, mood, of the image