It's been quite a while since any really good photographic opportunities presented themselves and finally the drought ended today at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens. This tree swallow couple is so accustomed to visitors, I was able to inch myself within about 6 feet of them. Another visitor got a very nice image on his point and shoot as well.
1D Mark 3, 100-400+1.4x teleconverter, 1/320, f/8.0, 435mm, ISO 1250
Looks good and sharp and a nice pose, Beth. Pity about the part of the perch obstructing the bird a little. BG looks good but you could probably darken down the bright area LLC and possibly burn in the branches a little - completely patching out the rising part of the perch on the right would also be a possibility if so inclined.
I find this to be an enjoyable image. I really like the prominent foreground bird and the minored pose (OK almost) of the out of focus bird in the background. In my opinion the background is pleasing with colors that compliment the bird. Well done.
Tony has provided a good critique. I thought I would give his suggestions and a couple of my observations a try and see how they affect the presentation. I'll leave it up to you as whether they have a positive impact.
Here is what I tried.
1. I find the presentation a little dar\k (personal preference). So I lightened it with a curves adjustment. I like the bird being a bit brighter but have mixed feelings about the background.
2. I darken the lower left hand corner of the background.
3. I increased the overall vibrance.
4. I darkened the perch.
To this point only minor adjustments to exciting elements have been performed. If acceptable to your ethics, and of course if you think they enhance your image, the following edits might be considered.
1) I wanted to see how removing the branch that obstructs the bird affected the image. So I used a variety of quick masks and cloning to remove it.
2) I then removed the out of focus branch on the right (our right). I liked the image with it removed but, thought that with it absent there was too much empty space. So I cropped to my taste taking some canvas off the right and a little off the left. I did tried taking some canvas off the bottom but, wasn't sure I like it so I left the bottom alone. I realize that this results in a squarish crop which, I appreciate that some dislike but, personally I think it works in this case.
Again a fine image which I have enjoyed viewing. Thanks for sharing it.