American Redstart in his habitat

[Rene Quenneville]

I just got back from a long walk in a nearby marsh. I found this little friend at an unexpected moment. There were a lot of branches around but I decided to try my luck. Here is the result. Is the leaf covering the tail a big issue?

1/640s
f/8
ISO 640
Nikon D200
420mm (sigma 100-300mm +1.4 TC)

[Dave Leroy]

I think so Rene. The tail does bother me; it will be interesting to see what the more experienced have to say about that. The blacks also seem off, as if they were underexposed, not sure. Nice and sharp and a really pretty bird. I hope you enjoyed your walk.
Dave

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the pose and eye contact. The blacks could go darker and I would sharpen the bird a bit more.

[Doug Brown]

The pose is nice. Another vote for darker blacks. The leaf over the tail feathers definitely detracts for me.