"Shoot my good side."

Not an unusual pose, but it reminded me of someone sitting for a portrait and getting a sore neck.

I never posted this 2009 image on NPN because of some obvious problems: It's only 24% of the frame; there's lots of "habitat"; and most of it is out-of-focus in the foreground. However, it's now on the cover of a magazine (http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/conservationist.html. I did not submit it as a cover shot, but the art director saw it in another, smaller-format publication, and requested it). I know that NPN Avian shooters who want to post imperfect images for one reason or another normally put them in the Discussion Forum rather than the Gallery. In this case I hope you'll pardon me because I wanted to put the cover shot in my personal NPN Gallery, and posting it in a discussion forum would not accomplish that.

Not a prize-winner, but magazine art/layout directors often have needs more important to them than art, despite their title. When you need to illustrate an article, content is more important than technical and artistic merit (if you can't get all those qualities before the deadline); and for covers, lots of space around the subject is not just desirable -- it is necessary. Published photos sometimes get re-used (in this case the art director saw this in a wildlife viewing guide from another publisher), so any suggestions for improvement would be appreciated. (I'm sure cropping comes to mind first, but this is the crop the magazine used for the cover.)

Canon 50D; Canon 100-400 mm.
1/500 sec. @ f/7.1; ISO 200
Hand-held from kayak
September, in the Adirondack Forest Preserve
24% of frame (Wish I had a longer lens, since getting closer is not an option when the birds perch on top of the tallest trees.)