Osprey and Rock Bass

Hi Tom,
Good job of catching this osprey with the fish. At 500mm is not always easy to even get a flying bird in the frame. I sometimes have trouble finding a perched bird. There is an obvious loss of feather details which appears to be from noise removal and a big crop. I personally never apply noise removal to the subject, only the background.
Thanks for posting,
Ronnie G.

Unusual pose (the spread wing and tail feathers are really outstanding) and background, Tom. The red eye of the rock bass does not distract me---I think because it is very small. The lighting situation looks a bit tough here: some details likely hidden by bright light on the top of the bird's head and by the shadow under the wing. Next time tell this fellow to look at us instead of away from us too!

Other than being just a bit soft, but great IMHO with the lens you were using, this is a nice shot of an osprey. I think it would have more impact if the head was not turned away from the camera, but not much you can do about that. Thanks for sharing, wish I had taken it!

Tom, I like the one lifted wing and the good look at the tail. I also appreciate the background you mention. The red eye of the bass is no distraction for me. I wish the Opsrey weren't looking away from the viewer but on the other hand I do enjoy the fact that both the bird and fish seem to be looking the in the very same direction. I agree with the nits mentioned by Ronnie.

Nice shot Tom, is a touch soft as mentioned. I think the crop is the problem there. The apparent sharpness may improve with a bit more midtone contrast, perhaps pull in the black point a touch?