Eastern Towhee

[Peter Farrell]

The red-eyed version of a male Eastern Towhee.
Sony A700 70-400G @400mm, f8, 1/1000, iso 1250, ev +0.3
PP in PSE8, some exposure correction in ACR, levels, s/h, sharpen, cloned out two oof branches right of the perch, nr on BG, usm after image sizing. Also toned down highlights in perch. Sun was 90 degrees to my left but I had no other clear views. Shot bracketing for ev, 5 shots at 0.3 change, liked this one the best.

[Lance Peters]

Hi Peter - have done well with the light - BG looks good - like the eye contact and the clear sharp eye. Good fine feather details - PP looks good.
A little tight at the bottom for my tastes - also with the diagonal perch effectively dividing the image in half - find there is a little too much negative space on the RHS. Maybe just my tastes though - so let see what others think.

[Peter Farrell]

Thanks, Lance. I thought about a vertical crop as well, added some to the bottom as you suggested and I like it better.
Thanks, Peter

[Dave Mills]

Hi Peter, Good suggestions by Lance. I like how you handled the right hand side but would leave a bit more room on the left.The backround is well handled but would have wished for a lower angle on the subject...