I know.. I know... I don't care for some of the sharper focused branches either.... But he didn't wan't to move. What's a guy going to do ? http://www.trophybassonly.com/0c2ff7e0.jpg
Oh..... and I know this isn't a bird or wildlife shot, but I didn't plan to do a seperate post for it over there.... so...
This was a 1 second exposure, in full sunlight, using the NDX400 filter, and tripod. http://www.trophybassonly.com/0c47cfe0.jpg
Great shot on the hawk, Fish. Don't worry about branches in bird photos, the birds don't.
Last shot would work better for me if it was darker or more contrasty. Cool-looking rock. Bet it would make a great silhouette shot against a sunrise/sunset, if that is possible.
Hey IM, yes, I agree..... but no, you'd have to do a verticle drop from a cliff, of about 80 feet ! Yikes ! And BTW, that rock is bigger than it might apear... I'd say 35 feet wide, and 20 feet tall....
Tim, yes, I agree. Personally, I kinda like the whole bird, or at least the whole front side, including the eye to be in sharp focus..... but because of the low light, had opened my aperature all the way up (5.6 on that lens) F8 probably would have got it....
Oh well.... just glad it wasn't an upclose Kingfisher To miss that would kill me !
and about the lightness (low contrast) of the ocean scene.....
That's what I get for slouching in my PC chair ! Doh !
Here's what I mean; My monitor is okay for a poor man it's a 23" HD Samsung 2343bwx, and after having it color calibrated, it's got a decent picture.... for a $229 monitor.
However (and this is a big "however") it's really terrible for the vertical viewing angle If I slouch in my chair, the picture looks really dark, and contrasty.... while if I walk up to my PC and look downward, the same photo looks washed out, with no contrast....
And what's worse, is that this stupid thing must be the only monitor on the market in which the stand does not adjust, to allow a different angle of the screen ! Doh ! I hope Samsung has fired the guy that designed this !
Anyway while sitting up, and looking at my screen straight on I did some adjustments on that ocean image....
Does this look a little better ? http://www.trophybassonly.com/0c67cfe0.jpg
Feel free to play with it, and your own PP, if you would like... But if you make it look better, you have to tell me how you did it
Peace,
Fish
PS, So I posted this, then slouched back down..... and I thought I overdid it, as it got too dark again ! Doh !
1) awesome flight shot on that red tail. the wing position and sweet and great eye contact.
2) the branches don't bother me. none of them obstruct my view of the subject nor do they intersect with the outline of the subject in the background. the colors are well saturated. the sharpness on the wing and feathers is very good but i'm almost feeling that is where you focussed the camera on. i kinda feel like the eye of the subject is just a tad bit out of the depth of field and could be sharper. to me a shot with a face must have the eyes in sharp focus to draw the attention of the viewer in. in this shot the eye appears dull. that may be due to a flat catch light, i'm not sure. i would try to sharpen the eye/head a bit more.
3) i like the reprocessed ocean scene. the increase contrast makes the scene pop more.
The jay would have more impact if the focus fell on the eye of the bird, just something to keep in mind 
If I slouch in my chair, the picture looks really dark, and contrasty.... while if I walk up to my PC and look downward, the same photo looks washed out, with no contrast....