Our bird "bubbler" is working magic this fall. The power of gentle running water is amazing as it pertains to drawing birds. I just have to sit in the blind and wait to see what shows up. I planted native plants/bushes around the bubbler and by next year, they should all be much fuller.
Here is one from yesterday. I had a solid ceiling of gray clouds, which is perfect for shooting at the bubbler.
D300s, 600VR, f/5.6, ISO 400, 1/200th, +.3EV compensation
Hope you enjoyed. As always C&C is most welcome and encouraged.
Bird looks good with the yellow and orange highlighted nicely against the mostly grey bird. My eye will often go to the the brightest spot on the photo and in this case its the flower in the background and not the bird. So for me, the orange flower distracts from the fine waxwing image.
I agree with Scott re the BG I would use Denise Ippolito technique of make a copy of the image, clone out the area in BG that you do not want, don't worry if you clone out part of the bird. add a layer mask and then fix up the bird with a brush
Nicely exposed, sharp,lovely bird.
Agree about he brightness of the flower in BG. I would try toning it down before I worry about cloning it out.
I would also suggest burning in the right end of the perch where it is so bright.
I like the diagonal perch, might add a bit more room on the right if you have it and its clean.
Nice bird, I love the detail you captured on the wing and "wax". Crystal clear eye. I agree with the OOF flower being a distraction though. I'm sure you do not want to physically remove it from your garden, so I would place the perch in a more strategic area for a cleaner BG (at least until those flowers get thicker and fuller as you anticipate). Speaking of the perch, I would try to find one with a bit more caracter in it...this one, although adequate, is a bit plain and border to thick IMO.