Red Winged Black Bird

I typically try to crop in tightly as closely as my slender skills

will allow when photographing song birds on by 100-400mm. On this

day, I decided I'd pull the lens back and get a wider view. I

personally like the result. I used some filters in CS2 to soften the

foliage and create the sense of a summer afternoon glow on the marsh.

I'm curious to see what comments others might share.

 

Thanks for looking.

There certainly is a glow but the principle interest might have been a little too blurred. I think the bird needed to be pin sharp to turn this from a good to stunning picture.

This is one of my favorite birds and you have a very nice capture here. He's calling, with his tail spread. And he is amongst the cattails, one of their common haunts. The bird really stands out against the background.

Very nice...well composed.

Thanks everyone for the comment.  Starvy, You are correct.  The bird is not sharp.  I did not soften the bird with CS2, only the area around the bird.  The bird is soft because of a few newbie mistakes.  First, I was hand holding @ 400mm and the bird only filled half of the center sensor.  Second, I panned handheld at 400mm @ F5.6.