Gray Jay

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Some heavy curves (L - in LAB mode) contrasting to bring out glow, cloned out some things...

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[denise ippolito]

Michael, I think this fits the theme well. I might apply a round of sharpening to the face. I might be tempted to tone down a few of the brighter areas in the BG if it were mine. I think you did a good job creating a natural looking chiaroscuro effect.

[Anita Bower]

Cute little thing! Looks a bit precarious on its perch. The bird stands out from the bg nicely. I wonder about cropping the bottom to eliminate some of those unnecessary elements.

[Brendan Dozier]

It is a cute one, Michael, does look a bit fragile. Like the lighting & natural look, and the tree & branch create a nice frame. Denise makes a good point regarding toning down the lighter areas in the BG. Nice work!

[Kerry Perkins]

Michael, this is a good image for the theme - thanks for posting! I really like this bird and don't get to see one very often, usually in Colorado or Arizona when I do. I like the image a lot and think that, if it were mine, I would go for some aggressive elimination of twigs - the one sticking out of the perch, the one covering the perch, and the one under the perch. The bg could be cleaned up a bit too to make this image stronger. I like the light angle and especially the way the bird is lit up around its edge.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Denise, Anita, Brendan, Kerry,

Thanks much for your comments... good ideas I'll use in reworking this one.

Cheers,

-Michael-