Young Blue Jay Portrait

[Bill Dix]

This young fellow hasn't yet developed much of a crest. He landed very close while I was set up for smaller birds at greater distance, so could only get part of him. (This may fall into the comp category of too much bird for a head shot, not enough for a full shot, but I wanted to include the irridescent blue in the LLH corner.) Experimenting with camera settings, incl. Auto ISO because of constantly shifting light conditions. Resulted in some noise but mostly removed I think. C&C welcome and appreciated.

D90 | 80-400 VR @ 370mm w/ 25mm ext. tube | Auto ISO @ 2200 | 1/1000s @ f7.1 | Manual exp @ -0.7 EV | Tripod

[Ray Rozema]

I like the composition. great detail Big plus is the color in the iris, ( is that a reflection or it's natural color) Only thing to improve and it is minor would be HA

Ray

[Bill Dix]

I like the composition. great detail Big plus is the color in the iris, ( is that a reflection or it's natural color) Only thing to improve and it is minor would be HA

Ray

Thanks Ray. The iris is natural color, except that I boosted brightness and saturation a bit. I believe the head is pretty close to parallel to the sensor plane. You wouldn't be able to see the far inside of the upper mandible if the head were turned away. That said, a bit more turn probably would have been nice. Appreciate the comments.

[Joel Eade]

Well done! Great detail and nice BG, I think you could brighten the eye even more (just my personal taste). Interesting to see the youngster so close, I have a shot or two but more "normal" distance. The pink around the base of the beak is neat, I like it alot!

[Lance Peters]

Hi Bill - Love the detail - awesome, BG compliments the bird very well - Just a little bit of a head turn towards you - The HAP may want to bring you in for questioning ;)
Like the use of the extension tube - techs look solid, Colours look very nice.
Good Show :)

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Bill I like the tech settings auto ISO will be good at times and this is one of them .... Btw good PS work !!!

[Bill Dix]

Thank you Joel, Lance and Al. I appreciate the comments.

[Dave Mills]

Hi Bill, I feel you have a winner with this one. I like everything about it and while the HA could be better it doesn't detract at all from the image. Love the open beak,detail throughout and complimentary backround. In this case the small branches on the lower right add to the overall. Nice going!!

[Bill Dix]

Hi Bill, I feel you have a winner with this one. I like everything about it and while the HA could be better it doesn't detract at all from the image. Love the open beak,detail throughout and complimentary backround. In this case the small branches on the lower right add to the overall. Nice going!!

Thanks for the comments, Dave. I debated about those branches, and decided to leave them. Glad you concur.