Scissortail Flycatcher

[Dave Mills]

Was shooting birds in Texas for 8 continuous days and saw this species for about 15 seconds. It wasn't close and I was hoping to capture a decent representation.
Nikon D300 500mm, F/5.6 1/2000 -1/3 comp 800 iso tripod mtd

[Randy Stout]

Dave:

Now there is a bird that is a challenge to frame well! What a tail. Can you say mandatory pano crop!

I think you photo shows him well. The tail is well displayed, well exposed, nice BG, sharp. I think you did a great job getting the entire bird in your plane of focus.

Congrats.

Randy

[Alfred Forns]

I like it Dave !! Sure made the best of the brief encounter and came up with a good one !!! Bird stands out well from the smooth bg !! Excellent !!!

[Morkel Erasmus]

these types of birds are a challenge to frame! we've got similar ones down here in South Africa. you did very well, it pops nicely from the BG, details are sharp and colors vivid

[Ramon M. Casares]

Great pose, great BG, great perch, nice light (probably fill flash might have improved light and eliminate some shadows) great crop and stunnnig species! In a perfect world the would have turned his head looking backwards, but as presented it looks amazing to me! Big congratulations!

[Doug Brown]

Lucky you to get one sitting on something other than a barbed wire fence. You did well for a 15 second encounter! The bird's plumage is lacking in fine detail; not sure if this is due to the crop or to noise reduction. Overall very nice!

[Indranil Sircar]

I love the perch and the background. The framing works well.

[Arthur Morris]

Well done as above. I wish only for less of a head turn.

[Stu Bowie]

Your comp works well, with the long tail. Super pose, against a good OOF BG. The head seems sharper than the rest of the bird, so I would maybe selectively sharp the body.