Crested Tit - (Lophophanes cristatus)

[Steve Kaluski]

Be interested to know your thoughts on this one.

I went for a pano to reduce the BG, but is it all vying with each other, perhaps a tighter crop? Should I tone down the green colour on the bark in the BG to the right, but this is how it is, so would that be right? The 'branch' is part of the tree, so it's all 'natural' so to speak.

BTW, trying to nail these ones is very difficult because they never stay still for very long.

Look forward to any thoughts

Steve
MKIII 500f/4 plus 1.4x 1/125sec f/7.1 ISO400 (Gitzo tripod/Wimberley head, cropped on width only)

Curves, Highlight/Shadows, Levels, Saturation, USM applied in PS

[Alan Murphy]

Nice sharp detail on the bird. I like the BG, but do find it a little dominant against this small bird. I would leave the color of the green in the BG as it is natural and looks fine. I would also crop down from the top.
Although the perch is part of the tree and natural, the cut/saw off takes away from the image a bit. They are tough birds to get a decent pose of, so I understand your challenge.

[Randy Stout]

Steve:

A tough situation here, with small bird, large perch with abrupt end, close background.

Good suggestions by Alan, which will help, but you may have to try another location to really get a great shot of this fellow.

The bird is sharp, like the crown and bright eyes.

Cheers

Randy

[Brendan Dozier]

Very cool looking bird, Steve, and great head-on pose. BG is a challenge, not sure how the IQ would hold up, but you could also try cropping it real tight for a close-up portrait.

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks guys, much appreciated. Agree on the 'perch' certainly not ideal. This was the original version before cropping.

thanks
Steve