Pheasant (female)

[Jonathan Ashton]

Canon 50DCanon 500mm F4 L IS Tripod Mongoose head, ISO 640 1/800 f4

I have recently re-sited my hide and have been putting corn down. This is one of my first visitors. I have sharpened the bird and reduced noise overall. I appreciate some people prefer not to reduce noise on the subject but I have not twigged yet how to do this - I guess you make a mask?? I was going to reduce noise or add a touch of blur to the background but I got the impression it looked false - the bird looked as it it had been stuck in front of the background. I think it looks like a reasonable compromise as is. I would appreciate any comments or criticisms you may have - good or bad.

[Dan Fleming]

I really like this. I like the composition. The bg blur has an almost radial quality to it adding interest for me. The dew on the grass is a nice touch too. The bird is tack sharp. Well done.

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi Jon,

All those views and no comments. Oh well, here goes...
Lovely bird and a nice sharp image - standing out from the background - nice head angle and alert posture.
Composition - maybe you could crop it a little tighter - taking from the top and the RHS.
You could simply use the "quick selection tool" to select the bird - shift to add; alt to remove - then command/control shift "I" to inverse - thus you have the background selected and can apply noise reduction. Save the selection and invert it again to select the bird for sharpening. The reason people apply NR only to the background is that it tends to smooth out the detail - which you really want to preserve in the subject.

Overall, I like your image and wish you all the best with future "visitors"!

Regards,

Gerald

[Bill Ragan]

Hi Jonathon; where was the photo taken? Bill

[Jonathan Ashton]

Hi Jonathon; where was the photo taken? Bill

Hi Bill the photo was taken from my hide which is located in a field next to a hedgerow; there is a pond nearby so in addition to pheasant I am getting passerines. I am hoping to get partridge and as the field is totally waterlogged I am also hoping for snipe and other waders. I intend at some point to put out a rabbit carcass in the hope that the local buzzard will drop in.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Jonathan
Nice comp overall, I'd love to see a little more room below, but only a little more. Like the use of negative space. Once you work out which method to use for selecting birds (some are quicker than others at times) then you will see a huge difference. Lovely color tones throughout. :)