I would like to know how you think this would do in a wildlife photograpy contest. I will probably be asking this about some other possible entries, also check my portfollio and if you like something let me know. Thanks to all of you in advance.
What type of wildlife contest are you thinking of?
I think that the photo is very noisy in the midtones and shadows of the bird itself, while I also feel that the eye is heavily oversharpened. The red streak in the bottom left (healing remnant?) also makes this photo look unprofessional.
Sorry to be a bit harsh, but if you are looking to present your work in competitions, you need to make sure it is top notch and shows off the absolute best of your ability.
All negativity besides, the moment captured is nice with the wing movement and the food in the bird's mouth. How it would do in a contest I think depends on what type of contest you were looking into.
It is for North Carolina wildlife magazine, and I appreciate your honesty. It lets me know where I need to improve. This is why I came here for help. Thanks!
Johnny!
Why Woody? He looks a bit stressed out. As if he's flying for his life. Also the bottom left "thingy" is a bit distracting. I kind of prefer these:.
I agree with what Tranquil said about the technical problems and would like to add that the crop hurts it a little. I think the composition would be better if the bird had some sky in front and above it. The color and intensity of the sky, itself is a little harsh, IMHO.
However, some good PS work could eliminate your sky problems and minimize the others. I really like the capture and I think you should get some input on processing before you scrap the idea. I've seen people do some pretty amazing things with my shots when I thought they were doomed.
Unless you are determined to hold out until you have a blue-ribbon shot. What do you have to lose?
You picked what I think could win. The Pileated is great. You have several dragonflies that have alot of potential too. Your fox is good too. Enter as many as you can. Good luck. Van
Johnny, I really like your froggy and the mommy woodpecker feeding her babies . The pileated woodpecker one would need to be cleaned up some as there is a bit of noise, but the photo itself is a great capture.
Just to add... for the hummingbird I would not get rid of the noise in NeatImage. What I suggest is making a duplicate background layer, apply a gaussian blur (or surface blur) to the image (I tend to use a 4 or 5 pixel radius), set the layer mask to black, and then using a white paintbrush, paint in the layer mask what parts you want blurred out. In this way, you can save the precious details while getting rid of the background noise.
To determine the radius, when in the blur dialogue, move the 100% window to a place where you can see what effect the blur will have on the background.
