Scarlet Tanager with Repost

Its been a long time since I've even seen a scarlet tanager.  Thanks for posting this.  They truly are the most brilliant red color which is difficult for the camera to handle.  You've done an admirable job containing the bleed usually associated with the color red.  A very nice image with good detail and a complementary background.

A really pretty bird.  The reds are so vivid on this bird, that some detail is not being shown that is there in the reds.  A TK mask using Saturation selected all of the red bird.  A small decrease in saturation, then a small curves layer with the same mask using a luminosity blending mode,  made the feather detail more visible in the bird.  A really nice image worth spending the time to get the maximum out of the bird.  Congrats on getting this guy!

Reminds me of Christmas Matt. Nice color control on these bright reds and dark greens. Your BG is perfect, the detail and the pose are really good. Simple, straight forward, great job. If anything, and it is not necessary at all, but you may consider pushing it a bit farther to the left (bird's right) in the frame?

What a beautiful bird, very well captured on your image! Well done...

Great species, well captured.  The reds really pop nicely off that green background.  Perhaps a little dark overall?

Thanks for all of the comments on my image.

Keith and David I went back to the raw file and reworked it a bit. I was able to get a bit more detail and brighten it a bit. There is a fine line where I do not want to loose that brilliant glowing red these birds are known for. I think it is an improvement, what do you think? It is very hard to see the detail differences in this low res image. I also find most people have there monitors set a tad brighter than mine, which is calibrated for my printer, so I tend to post images for online viewing a tad darker than my original. After posting I realized I could probably use a bit more contrast in the branch.

It's a beautiful bird, of course, but this dark green background really makes for an ideal setting for it.  Lovely shot.

Max

Matt:
I think the re-post is better.  I understand not wanting to lose the vivid colors of this bird, but while our eyes can see detail and the color, cameras fail at doing as well.  I'd still pull it back further to get more feather detail.  There is still a ton of color so you are not losing that.  

I think I tend to have my monitor relatively dim as well, Matt.  I'm seeing plenty of plumage detail in the original, thought he repost is certainly brighter and the color of the iris shows better.

The repost does work better for me.  The levels of color seem better and I do see the iris better on the second image.  I have never seen one of these; they are not native to Washington state.  That said, we do have brightly colored birds such as Black Headed Grosbeak's and Spotted Towhee.  In certain lighting conditions, these also require saturation adjustments.  With respect to TK luminosity masks and actions, if you don't already have this add-on, you might want to look into it.  I'm certainly no expert but I have been using it for the last year and it is well worth its minimal cost.

Wonderful colors in this Matt. The pose, background and light all worked together for you. The repost is an improvement imo.

Hey Matt,
Sweet subject and composition, the repost also seems a bit better on my monitor with the detail and the brightness increase.
Overall a great image, well done . . . 

Really nice image of this beauty, Matt.  I didn't care for the darker original, but your repost made a huge difference.

Matt,
Amazing bird and amazing image

I have never seen a Scarlet before, but would love to see one this summer. You captured this guy beautifully. Well done!

Matt, this is just beautiful.  I do like the re-post better though.  I can see detail in the feathers better.  The composition looks better as well.  It looks great on my monitor, which is a Dell factory calibrated, and so far my colors are spot on.  I can see this one on the cover of a bird magazine!