Yes, I realize that this belongs on the Nature forum. However, I am looking for a critique on the composition and spatial relationsip of the subject. The folks on the nature forum have already seen this but I feel that you folks will look at this from a different perspective.

Gezzer

1. This is the original.
2. Has a different crop and some cloning in the lower left.

I prefer #2, #1 is too centered IMO, the more vertical presentation and arc of the wood add nicely to help anchor and balance #2.

I find what looks like zig-zag lines to the right of the beak and further down unnatural and distracting.

regards,

Bob

Bob, thank you for your comments. I'm not sure what you mean byn the zig zag lines to the right of the beak?

Gezzer

Beautiful image with pleasing colors, sharpness, detail, excellent pose. Second crop is better, moving the bird off center and looking into space. Work on the log removes a small distraction of the darker, shadowed area. There are subtle lines and the appearance of markings on the right of the bird which you could clone or blur out, but I think the image is plenty strong to not bother with such a minor issue.

Scott

BTW, I felt like cheating after commenting. I couldnt find this image or a variation posted by you on Nature and Wildlife.
The images I did see weere beautiful. And it looks like both your technique and your equipment have progressed dramatically. Got to love that 500L
Scott

Found it!
Great series you have been posting!

Scott

Texasgeezer wrote:
Bob, thank you for your comments. I'm not sure what you mean byn the zig zag lines to the right of the beak?

Gezzer

They are much less pronounced on this laptop than the calibrated desktop monitor. As Scott said, they are really very minor, and I was looking quite closely - rather picking nits I'd say.

The color and focus are wonderful.

Bob

Gesser,

I think the first image composition is fine for the presentation. You haven’t any other point of reference other than the foreground branch to work with. The rule of thirds isn’t set in concrete. To crop it more narrowly would be crowding the bird. I would use either the magic wand or burn tool to bring down the brightness of the branch, and use the dodge tool to bring up the shadowed feather area to come a little closer to the highlighted feathers. If you’ve used a heavy Gaussian blur to bring down the background, you might consider just a little more detail for interest. The dark twig extension at the left side, adds interest. Just clone out the white poop.

Bert

Bert..
Thanks for your comments. My PP skills are not the best but I'll try your suggestions.

Greg...
I don't think there are any web issues. I must have posted the second try at cloning the log and hit the levels twice. Thanks for the heads up.

Bob..

That's is just what I was looking for. Thanks.

Scott...

Thank you for your kind remarks.

Thank you one and all.

Gezzer

I see what Greg is saying as I do see a slight yellow cast on my monitor, especially on the branch that I would expect to be a more neutral tone. I also prefer the second format.

But looking at the original post "By Evenings Light", maybe your original is closer to the actual scene - depends on what you're after.

Very nice.

I don't feel the need to move the critter off center for this image, although cloning out the white bird splat the left would definitely be a plus. I especially like the crisp, three dimensional character of the feathers.