Courtship - Repost

Tim..I like this image a lot. Something different and with both the birds, each on a stem. I also liked the composition ..nicely done..

Balan Vinod

Love these beautiful birds, Tim. To have caught the two together like this is exceptional. Well done.

Nice work on the composition with two active subjects. Colors are very pleasing. Image quality (sharpness, detail, exposure, noise) all look good. Nice texture on the stems and in the feathers. Only minor technical issue is the head of the upper bird appears somewhat blurred (motion or DOF?).

What species?

What camera?

Tim, I thought it a good idea to make a comment while I'm following up on the forum discussion I think Charlie had started earlier. I'm not really up on Avian images at all, however, I think on a general image quality basis I do feel comfortable in commenting.
First of all these birds are simply gorgeous and their colors are very eye catching. I will have to admit most anything with a nice color of yellow catches my eye easily. Something not at all easy to get right on Avian images IMO is the plumage and it's fluff or texture if you will. These obviously hold that fine quality quite well.
I will have to agree on one point made by Richard D. who has been posting and commenting for almost 10 years here at NPN. That would be a slight softness in the upper bird's head area. You might try a slight selective sharpening there on that area to see if it works. As he stated it could have been a bit of movement or short DOF. Regardless, this is truly a very nice pleasing image to view overall IMVHO.

awesome, they are pretty sharp for F/4, well done

Strong composition. I like the staggered position of the birds, the strong verticals of the plant stalks, the yellow against the luscious green background, and the pose of each bird. Nicely done.

I very much appreciate everyone's comments, thank you!

Richard, I'm not a bird expert by any means but these are Brazilian birds that they call "Carnario". It's a very prevalent bird and have beautiful voices. Sorry I left out the camera data, it was a Canon 5D Mk III and 70-200 f/2.8L.

I have to tell you that I had lens replacement surgery almost a month ago and had some minor problems resulting in needing sutures in each eye. The sutures came out yesterday but things are still a bit fuzzy. I say this only to tell you that I can't see the softness in the upper bird mentioned by you and Paul. I'm not doubting you for an instant, just to say I can't see it right now. That being said I also need to mention that it wouldn't do any good if I could. I don't have PS and have only been using Lightroom for about 6 months. So if there is a way to do selective sharpening in Lightroom, I don't know how. But I ordered PS yesterday and after some learning curve time I'll try better to stay up with the class!

Again, I thank you all immensely for taking the time. I'm relatively new here but do know that if there is anywhere on the Internet to learn about great nature photography its here!

Nicely done Tim. I really like how the composition brings my eyes around the photograph. I hope your eyes heal quickly and without issue!

love this! tough to catch 2 birds, both in great and interactive positions.
Fine detail and the plant stems add a lot of interest.
very well-done!
sandy

I don't have PS and have only been using Lightroom for about 6 months. So if there is a way to do selective sharpening in Lightroom, I don't know how.

Tim: In Lightroom use the Develop module, select the Adjustment Brush. "Paint" in an area where you would like to apply more sharpening. Hint. Press the "O" key to see a red mask where you are painting. Then Press "O" again to turn off the red mask. Then use the Slider for Sharpness to apply it to the area you just painted. While I don't think this is as good as doing it in Photoshop, you are going to have a long learning curve with Photoshop to be able to accomplish the selective adjustments.

Very nice image and comp Tim, these are Saffron Finches.

You've all given me great information and kind, generous comments. Thank you very much. As soon as I can see better I'm going to try the selective sharpening!

Tim: I think this is terrific and since I'm a Flora guy I also like the partial flower in the ULC; for me that is a nice plus element. 2 thumbs up! >=))>

Ok, I tried selective sharpening in the area of the upper bird's head. Can I ask you all for some help in telling me what you think of the reposted image? I'm still not seeing with great clarity and it's hard for me to tell if if helped or not. Any advice or criticism will be greatly appreciated!