This was one of my outtakes for the Birds II challenge a year ago this month for which I won the blue ribbon.
I don't expect a ribbon with this one since it's not quite as good as my Birds II entry and because, of course, this is the best of 2008 challenge. This challenge is not specifically for the birds (hmm, no pun intended) and it's full of everybody's best of the year. I do hope to place in the top 15% though.
Underexposed the shot by -1 step to avoid blown out highlights
Converted RAW file in Nikon Capture NX
Opened converted file in CS2
Levels
Sponge tool to increase saturation in the yellow parts
Adjusted hue and saturation in cyan and blue
Cloned out twig
Unsharp
Dodge the shadow on his crest a little
Crop
Added border
Sized for DPC
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