Cropped significantly from original transparency (Astia). Background too busy? Other cropping alternatives? Thanks for any suggestions. Sigma 400mm f5.6 APO, SB-28 fill flash @ -1.7, handheld.

-- Peter May (peter.may@stetson.edu), January 26, 1999

Answers

I think the background is ok...the bird stands out clearly as the subject, with color contrasting against the darkness. Of the many bird postings I've seen lately, I like this one the best. I might crop down a little lower from the top.

-- Jon McNeill (jon_mcneill@hp.com), January 26, 1999.

I like this one very much. Great colour and detail in the subject. The little fellow is nicely posed on the sharp foreground twig. The background is softly out of focus so doesn't bother me. Nice work!

-- Garry Schaefer (schaefer@pangea.ca), January 26, 1999.

Good focus, nice catch light. I like the slightly blurred twigs in the background. My only nit are the brown leaves (?) in the lower right hand corner. I find them a little distracting.

-- Rich Ruh (pathfinder@poboxes.com), January 28, 1999.

I agree that the background is great, it doesn't distract and nicely shows the bird's environment. If the area above and to the left of this crop looks similar I would include more in those areas, but that may just be a personal preference. I like to show more of the area the animal is "looking into."

-- Victor Lombardi (victorlombardi@yahoo.com), January 28, 1999.

I don't have a lot of experience with getting good catchlights yet, but somehow that dead-center catchlight is disconcerting...perhaps it would look more natural if you got the flash up and above your camera a bit more?

-- Andrew Y. Kim (andy_roo@mit.edu), February 02, 1999.