Sparrowhawk 2

INCREDIBLE shot, Geoffrey. Surprisingly low noise considering the ISO. Did you do any noise reduction in LR or PS?

This is lovely. The color drew me in of course, but the droplets on the back and head are a nice touch as well.

Max

Geoffrey, Great look back from the hawk and I like the raindrops on the plumage.

May I gently suggest that you take the time and make the effort to comment on the images of others. This is a give and take forum and we all depend on the comments of those who participate. Besides, one learns as much from commenting as from getting comments.

This one is even better. Love the look it is giving you.
May

I like your comment about everything being in HD... the move from prosumer camera to DSLR produced that feeling for me, so I can't imagine what it's like to go up to the really big boy stuff. ISO 3200 looks really great here and those water droplets are just awesome. In the larger image you can see the faint streaking of rain which adds a lot.

In post processing, I'd see if I could eek out more of those rain drops (not sure how... probably a few ways to accomplish that, maybe someone more advanced can add a helping hand) and I'd increase black saturation on the bird (exclude the perch which is plenty dark). The tail feathers seem to have a little color cast which was likely caused by a limit of dynamic range at such a high ISO. So, bump those blacks and this photo will pop even more! I also echo Ron's comments

I did apply some noise reduction in Photoshop but only went up to about 20% or so until it started to blur the feather detail a little.

You are right of course Ron, I have been posting and running lately I guess, I'll try harder to give some constructive comments on other people's photos but I'm not as experienced as you guys and don't always know quite what to say other than "nice shot" etc, and that's no good to anyone is it

Geoff.

NIce capture...love the water drop on the back, nicely captured!

love that stare and the colorful bg, Geoffrey! congrats on the new gear--I'm sure it will be a treat to explore your new capabilities.

I totally agree with Ron that critiquing is every bit as educational as receiving comments. It need not be finding flaws in an image--you can learn a lot by simply looking at an image and thinking hard about what is is that you like and expressing that.

Like Rich says, when you do NR, make a selection of just the bg and apply it to that, not the bird.

love the stare in this one Geoffrey

I think you've been spotted Geoffrey - another great shot, love the stare and raindrops

cheers
Rob

Geoffrey,
this is excellent .
It is amazing to see the sharpness of this image at 3200 ISO . But this is not the only substance, I like a lot the wonderful background of autumnal colors, the direct look ,all the water droplets on its back .
Congrats.
Giorgio

Very nice. I like the uncluttered comp and the intense stare. The exposure is great given the bright background.

Geoffrey,
you got a great eye contact. I like the pose, perch and background. Very nice.

A mosting striking image Geoffrey - stare, detail, background colours all first rate.

Terrific composition and riveting stare. Very nicely rendered Geoffrey.

That's quite a camera. Iso 3200 and the image snaps.
Those piercing eyes really get attention. Love the bg as well.

I think it's terrific as posted, Geoffrey. The head turn, piercing eyes and great contrast with the background really combine to make a fine impact. The fact that you were able to obtain this at ISO 3200 makes it even better.