RBWP in the snow

[Bill Dix]

D90; 80-400 VR @ 370mm. ISO 800. f/7.1 @ 1/1000s. Matrix metering @ 0EV. HH.

Have been snowed in for some of the past week, so I've been concentrating on the backyard birds; I've been wanting to catch this Red-bellied for some time anyway, and he looked lovely in the snow. Cropped to vert plus 25% off height. Some adjustments to levels and curves; de-sat'd reds about 5 points; lightened eye and removed an oof snowflake from his face. Probably could have improved it by moving a few feet to my right, but he was only in this spot for a second, with no time to recompose. C&C appreciated.

[Gail Spitler]

Bill - This is very nice - all the techs (exposure, composition, HA, sharpness...) look good to me. Personally I'd be tempted to try a slightly tighter crop.
There is a lovely soft tone to this image - the subtle tones of the bird, the gray bg and the snow are really working well together. I wish we had Red-bellied here; on the coast we do have Red-breasted Woodpeckers that are almost as good.
Well done

Cheers
Gail

[Peter Farrell]

Nice compositon, colors & light. I like the soft BG I would be tempted to rotate CW straightening the tree.
One of my favorite birds. TFS

[Ray Rozema]

Like the mood, good color and detail. BG a big +. Might brighten and sharpen the eye a little more. Agree CW rotate slightly

TFS
Ray :)

[Lance Peters]

Hi Bill - great advice above - nothing else to add.
Lovely feel.
Good show :)

[arash_hazeghi]

Like the light and BG Bill, agree with CW rotation.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Very nice Bill, I might sharpen the eye a bit more. Good exposure and I like the snowflakes.

[Craig Wallace]

Can't add much else other than a beautiful image, well done!

[Katie Rupp]

Gail said it well so I'll just add that the snow really makes this special. Well done!