The "real" bee-eater

[Adrian David]

Model : NIKON D300
Exposure Time : 1/250 sec
F-Number : F8
Exposure Program : Aperture priority
ISO Speed Ratings : 400
Exposure Bias Value : 0 EV
Metering Mode : Multi-segment
Flash : Flash did not fire
Focal Length : 500,0 mm
Sensing Method : One-chip color area sensor
File Source : Digital Still Camera (DSC)
Exposure Mode : Auto exposure
White Balance : Auto white balance
Focal Length 35 : 750mm
Lens : Sigma 150-500 OS
Tripod.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Adrian, liked the bokeh, natural light and composition. And of course the bird is gorgeous and the 'wasp in mouth' adds a lot. The head and beak look a bit oversharpened to me...not the eye but white and blue feathers above the beak.

KD

[Doug Brown]

Perfect head turn and the wasp is a big plus. Agree with Kaustubh about the sharpening. I would tone down the area around the bird's left foot. The left side of the perch looks hazy; did you do any cloning there? Also, the tan area in the LLC draws my eye away from the bird.

[scott benson]

love this shot. well caught just wish we had decent weather here so i could get the d300 and my sigma 150-500mm out as i have found it not the best for small birds, but when i see pics like this with this combo it proves it works.

[Danny J Brown]

Hi Adrian: Another great bee eater shot. Colors are sweet and the red wasp is a real plus. Nice bokeh as well.

[Aidan Briggs]

Nice exposure, BG, perch, and prey. I agree about the sharpening, and might try to tone down the right foot a bit.

[Harshad Barve]

Nice suggations above , but I am loving this species and image
TFS

[Clement Francis]

Lovely image and what ever needs to be said is said above.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

In addition it would be enhanced by a tighter vertical crop. :) Lovely bird and great pose.

[RakeshDhareshwar]

Lovely image . Like the pose here and the action with the prey . Good use of DOF to get the full bird in focus. Nits as mentioned above.

[arash_hazeghi]

Awesome image. love the BG, side light and colors. HA, eye contact and prey on top of that take this tho the top.

[Adrian David]

Perfect head turn and the wasp is a big plus. Agree with Kaustubh about the sharpening. I would tone down the area around the bird's left foot. The left side of the perch looks hazy; did you do any cloning there? Also, the tan area in the LLC draws my eye away from the bird.

Thank you very much, Doug! I didn't do any cloning in the LLC, but there was a bush with flowers near me, and it appears totally OOF in the image.I forgot to mention that this is a big cop, about 25% percent from the original, that's why the details on the head look a little weird...

Thank you very much to all, for the kind words!