I took this picture at Bombay Hook De . i did a bit of selective darkening of the bg to simplify. I would love to hear comments about composition , whites
Nikon D3s
1/800 sec at F6.7
ISO200
500 MM f4 with 1.7 TC
From a beanbag inside car blind
Good looking snowy with nice breeding plumage, the light angle off to the left plays up the texture in the feathers. He is angled away a bit. Nice exposure.
The concept of darkening the background is sound, but I would probably apply it uniformly across the BG, not stop in front of the bird, it looks a bit unnatural.
You do have to be careful when sharpening the fine plumes to not overdo them, or they start to look a bit 'crunchy' and jagged.