[Peted]

[StudioJ]

Rarrrk! Pretty Polly!

The rich green background appeals to more than the bird but that is no fault of your own Pete. Nice capture.

[Lowepro]

Really nice crisp shot you've got there. The DOF is super. Shame about the harsh light which causes a couple of blown out areas. Considering you were shooting a white subject in those lighting conditions I think you've done a great job.

[Peted]

Gum trees and grass in behind. This bloke just sat eating while I shot a heap of shots.

[Peted]

Really nice crisp shot you've got there. The DOF is super. Shame about the harsh light which causes a couple of blown out areas. Considering you were shooting a white subject in those lighting conditions I think you've done a great job.

There was a bit of luck involved, the sun was coming in from he right, not a lot I can do about it now but should have underexposed a little to try and avoid blowing those areas. What does not kill us makes us stronger!

[shuttertalk]

Nice.. I like the horizontal composition - it works well. All the elements in the frame are in great focus too - which is not as easy as it looks. Well done!

[Peted]

One of my earlier shots with the Ds, more good luck than good management, getting better though.

[EnglishBob]

Great shot, I love it.

For me the main thing I would do is take out the little distractions at the top and the white spot bottom right quarter.

[Kombisaurus]

Fantastic shot Pete... I agree with all that they said above ^^^ about the DOF, the green background, the framing, the distractions, and the ever-so-slight blown out highlights.

But although Jamie reckons the green background is the highlight for him, I think it only looks as good as it does because of the gorgeous creamy white of the bird. To me, the purity of the white, yellow and green and the crispness of the bird and fantastic softness of the background are what make it.

I'm not sure about the chains though. I like the two vertical lines they give, but the chains themselves are a bit uninteresting. Have you tried cropping (or even cloning) them out? I don't know if that would look better though. Couldn't you have asked the bird nicely to go somewhere with a bit more character? Or used a stuffed bird?

But.. it doesn't need anything to still be a great shot. Well done!

That DOF is just perfect, the entire bird is 100% sharp but even the rusty chain immediately behind the bird is out of focus, and the background is beautiful.
What lens and settings did you use?

[guerito]

Hm I'm too late, it's all said already. Great shot!