Love the wing spread and composition where you included the nest. Whites look a little hot but if they don't print that way then I'd say all is well :)
Excellent capture, really dramatic pose. The whites do seem hot on my monitor (MacBook Pro), in fact the whole bird seems a bit too contrasty -- I assume the light was very strong? The nest does seem oversharpened, but perhaps that's because we're viewing it in the context of the blurred BG. The light brown blotches in the BG are distracting to me, but it would be quite a cloning job to remove them. Having said all that, this is still a great image...
Thanks folks for your insights, suggestions and comments.
I must admit that one of the reasons I don't post frequently is that I dont take the time to optimize my files for web viewing and they seldom look like what I would print or enter into a competition. For me at least I process for the final tiff file. The small jpeg is an afterthought. When I convert and resize there is usually a shift in contrast, brightness, sharpness, noise etc. I then make quick adjustments to the small jpeg with out worrying about the fine points. Maybe I should change my approach but when I post an image I am usually looking more for comments regarding if the composition works, if the photo has or lacks impact or if there are serious flaws I haven't noticed. Like I said, maybe I will switch gears and try to post the image in it's best light ( no pun intended).
Thanks again and comments regarding the above are welcome as well.
Last edited by Mike Tracy; 04-12-2011 at 07:28 AM.