An interesting perch Ian - the yellow color of the leaves compliments the bird well. I am not sure about the pose - I like the bird's focus on the leaf, but would like some more engagment with the eye / head angle.
Processing wise, the image seems to be lacking a black point - I think you should consider either adjust levels or adding some black as "selective color".
I'd consider a tighter crop - perhaps a portrait orientation. If your ethics permit, you may wish to clone out some of the busy leaves on the right side.
I totally agree with Jeff...the processing looks "off" - not what we typically see from you. Were you trying to go high key or is this how you saw the image in the field? It definitely feels washed out without any dark tones to it.
I also like the recrop, although I think you could stay with a horizontal as well and just go in a bit tighter - either way would work nicely.
Thanks for the comments, folks. There really was no black here except the eye, that I can remember (my color memory is generally terrible). He's on a light branch against a cloudy sky. I can go back and put in some black, but not sure that would be an accurate assessment -- I'll try it. I took a series at this time and they all have similar color patterns.
I'm unfamiliar with this species but the image looks very low in contrast. I'll bet a little adjustment with curves will fix it right up.
I like your composition, I think it could be cropped a little tighter. Jeff's crop is too tight for my taste.
I love Jeff's comment. Rather than stating you should clone out certain elements, he said: If your ethics permit, you may wish to clone out some of the busy leaves on the right side. Perfect.
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