Red-winged Blackbird

Hi Jennifer,
Good job of getting that damselfly before he swallowed it. It's very difficult to get details to show in black birds in general. You really need very low diffused light to have any chance to get feather detail to show. Photoshop is not a fix all solution. Getting it right in the field is the key to good photography.
Thanks for posting,
Ronnie G.

Hi Jennifer. You picked a tough bird to photograph as Ronnie explained so well. Composition is a big part of a successful avian photo imho. In this case he looks a bit centered and slightly tight at the bottom for the feet. It's fun to look at the work of others and continue to improve ones eye for what works best. I hear you on the Photoshop thing, a necessary evil but not an insurmountable challenge you will see. Keep 'em coming and comment on others as well.

Good capture of the action, a different RWBB then you usually see. It is a little tight on the bottom, but still an interesting photo. Thanks for sharing. Good luck with PS, this is a good place to learn. I just found out how to open RAW in PSE 7, thanks to other NPN members.

Very nice capture. Ron

Nice capture of the action here. One thing that definitely helps in a situation like this, is a bit of fill-flash. Took me a long time to start to use fill-flash, but once I did, I have my flash on my camera at all times. Would really help provide a touch of lighting to the underside of the wing and the body here, and bring out some detail. And, it really is quite easy to learn how to use.

Thank you all. I cropped the area in front of his feet because it was all moss and algae and I didn't think it would be pleasing for the viewers. I will rework it, leaving more room around the feet and see what it looks like. Terry, what flash would you recommend for my camera? I have the Canon Eos Rebel 450D.
As always I really appreciate everyone's honest critiques and helpful advice.
Jen

Great shot and Ilike the wings open like that.There is great detail in the far wing and believe you me it takes time and a lot of persistance to get it right and then it still goes wrong
Try using spot metering as I see one of the problems for such harsh blacks is the very bright BG which will more than likely cause this.

Jennifer,,,,,I like the posture of the bird and the setting. As already noted, this is tough lighting conditions for getting under wing detail on a blackbird. A little more room on the bottom for the feet would be nice.

Jennifer,

I like the pose and especially the damselfly in the bill of the blackbird.

Photographing black birds is difficult, but finding the best light can produce some exceptional images. Don't forget to try using EV compensation either, even a little can help an image a lot.

I agree with more space on the bottom of the frame, but the whole image seems a bit tight.