Pair of prairie dogs

Lon, I think your DOF here is just perfect. It's nice to see both critters in sharp focus as well as some of the foreground dirt. The grasses in the back are just enough OOF that they don't distract at all in my opinion, but if it were my image I would probably crop some of the grasses off the top.

Dof looks great to me. Dogs look good too, both very sharp. I like the interaction and your comp.

Lon, both prairie dogs look perfectly in focus, and the grass does not bother me at all.

Dof is perfect and the dogs are very sharp. Nice shot.

Lon: Great job getting both in focus. The grass in the BG is fine and not distracting. Lovely

How does this image show on your monitor in terms or brightness? I very recently went to a new computer, Win7 & 64 bit, which challenges me with a new learning curve. I have not yet manually calibrated it ( not yet sure my software is compatible) with my new monitor. Colors appear correct to me, but I am unsure of brightness.

Lon, I think this looks great in all respects (including brightness). Wonderful sharpness on your subjects and the dof still reveals their environment without compromising the artistic value. Well done in my book.

Lon, I am totally fine with the grasses, because the iage contains terrific contrast which provides wonderful seperation from the BG. I actually have A LOT of fun photographing these little guys sometimes. I know it IS hard both in frame and focus and think you definitely succeeded! BTW, the brightness looks fine on my monitor

Nice sharp catch. I've tried to get a good shot of these fellows and have never captured anything close to this.

Nice image Lon. I like the fact that both are pin sharp and that their eyes are clearly visible (with catch lights!) DOF is always a trade-off and in this case it works as the BG is not distracting. Yet I wonder if a slightly smaller DOF would not have also rendered both subjects sharp as they seem to be in almost the same plane of focus.
Regarding your your brightness question: these are difficult things as personal preference comes in play here as well. It is for sure that your screen is not way off, but I feel it looks a little bit washed out (i.e. it could be a bit darker with a slight increase in contrast to make it stronger) I have sent you a PM with a PSD file to show what I mean). What screen and what calibration software are you using Lon?

Gee looks like they overwintered rather well, nice and chubby. You managed an interesting composition having one broadside and the other popping up from the burrow. You did very well getting them both in excellent focus. The background is quite simple but ideally even less dof to isolate the two would be my "wish" (a very minor nit admittedly)

Lon, I think dof is perfect here, and detail is great. Nice job!.