This is a closeup from the vehicle blind, handheld from almost directly underneath the bird. 1D mark IV, 800 f5.6 plus 1.4x II, iso 800, f13, 1/200, shot manually, evaluative metering.
Nice exposure and head angle. The square composition works nicely. Some might comment that it's tight, but I think it's a fine portrait. IMHO I think it's a bit oversharpened - I can see artifacts around the feathers on the top of the head. I would decrease the overall sharpening and selectively sharpen the eye, which appears slightly less sharp than the bill on my monitor.
Wonderful closeup portrait, Herb. And hand held - wow! My only comments are that the composition is a bit tight to my eye and it is just a bit oversharpened, particularly in the head feathers.
Thanks for the comments Terry and Charles. I reworked it, only sharpening the eye nothing else. I think the perimeter halos are from a mask and too heavy NR in neat image.
I like your rework very much. And I agree with you on the slight loss of detail; perhaps a small amount of spot sharpening on the breast feathers might be in order. As Charles said, definitely would make a nice print!
Thanks for your repost.
Terry