Magpie

[Steve Canuel]

Not really sure about this one and wanted to hear some opinions. Pretty flat light (shaded side of a hill) but I rarely get these guys in the open and as close as I was able to get to this one. I ended up blowing out the whites trying to get detail in the darker face but really liked the pose. 40D, 400DO + 1.4xTC, f6.3, 1/400s, ISO 1600, +1 EC, handheld, cropped a bit from bottom and right.

[Julie Brown]

Steve, I like this. You have a nice compo with the perch placement and look-back pose, eye contact, catchlight, detail in the blacks, pretty blue feathers, and a pleasing BG. The whites are a minor issue for me.

[Jim Fenton]

I think the flat light did wonderful things for you here :)

Beautiful subject, colors are great and the only thing I'd do is perhaps sharpen the eye selectively just a tad.

[John Ippolito]

Hi Steve, I agree with Jim, that the flat light was your friend with this species. I have yet to get a decent image of this bird. The pale bands of color help to separate the magpie from the BG. Very nice look back, and I like the perch, and composition also. Well done.

[Harshad Barve]

excellent image Steve , lovely pose , colors and BG here
TFS

[Fabs Forns]

I think it's spectacular. As mentioned, the light is perfect and the composition and BG are extremely nice. The whites are so small it really does not matter to me.

[Stu Bowie]

Hey Steve, nothing wrong with this. Lovely colours on the Magpie, with a good look back pose. Overall exposure looks good, and I like the smooth BG. Good job with the high ISO too.

[Craig Brelsford]

Steve, you made the right choice in blowing out the very small white areas for the sake of the facial details.

[Hilary Hann]

This is a stunning bird and I like the composition and the pose. Beautiful background and the soft light has helped with the tonal range. The small bit of blown white is neither here not there. Lovely.

[Morkel Erasmus]

lovely image Steve - like the comp, soft light and colours here, and I am not peeved by the whites as I have had to do the same with dark birds in the shade. I am wondering if a slight warming filter applied would improve this?

[paul leverington]

Bracket and combine next time Steve maybe. Other than a little flat on the contrast I absolutely love your shot!

Paul

[Daniel Cadieux]

Wonderful image Steve...from subject, to perch, to BG, all looks good. I agree with Morkel that perhaps warming it up a bit would be nice (especially BG).

FWIW, "flat" lighting conditions are my favorite - for any species!

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Steve, this is as good as it gets. The bird, the perch, the BG, light, head turn....everything is spot on. Would love to see a larger version :-)

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Cool-looking bird, interesting perch and light. I guess you could raise the contrast a bit if it does not take away from the soft colors. I might remove the darkish spot in the upper right corner. It would be nice to see this a bit larger.

[Steve Canuel]

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions.

Paul, gotta remember that bracketing thing. Not tripod this time and I don't have much confidence in my ability to stay still when handholding.

Morkel and Axel, I played around a bit with a warming filter but couldn't get a result I liked.

[Rod Warnock]

Superb image, Steve !! Wouldn't change a thing.
Best regards
Rod Warnock