More sunflower seeds please!

[Cathy McEntee]

This was taken in my yard last week. There is a feeder close by. I thought the pose and expression were precious. I centered the bird in the frame for more impact. Would love your opinion and feedback. Thanks. Adjustments LR3, sharpening CS5.
Nikon D7000, Nikon 300mm 2.8 with 1.7 tc
ISO 800, f 7.1, 1/640 monopod

[Doug West]

Very nice Cathy. I love how each foot is on each rise of the rocks.

Doug

[gary ellwein]

Hi Kathy, the subject has been handled nicely with good exposure and detail in the head and breast. I'd try toning down the bright spots on the bill. IMHO the strong horizontal line formed by the bg boulder is distracting. The more I get into this business, the more I realize the importance of the bg.

Gary

[P-A. Fortin]

I love these birds. There is a couple nesting in the backyard of my parents for over 6 years now and I have never been able to get a decent photograph. They are very elusive and disappear for a few days everytime something changes in the backyard.

Very nice image. As Gary mentioned, I would have hoped for a less distracting background. Considering that you took the image at f/7.1, a larger aperture should have been considered to reduce the DOF. I don't know the distance to subject but my guess is that f/5.6 would have been enough. It would also have allowed you to use a lower ISO (although I do not see any noise problem with this image).

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Cathy,

Interesting to see some good dialog on the background, very important if not done well the subject is lost or weakened. That is the case with this pic, it is very original and the rolling perch is great but the BG pulls the eye and competes with the subject. Now, often we take what we can get and controlling it can really only be done in a studio. Keep thinking ahead and when possible use DoF to enhance or reduce the other elements in the frame.

I do like the expression and might hit curves/levels again to strengthen mid tones- keep em coming.

[Cathy McEntee]

Thank you everyone for your comments. I was shooting down off my deck and wasn't aware of the back half of the bird bath. Something to be more aware of in the future.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Cathy, very cute capture and nice feather detail in the breast area. Love the pose, looking right down the lens! Considering the background and foreground are essential elements of moving your photographic skills forward. For this image, you might benefit from doing an aggressive blur on the bg. Good job of getting the moment captured!