Palmetto Bunting

Good detail and a classic pose. I would come back a good bit on the saturation and brighten it up a bit.

I like the lighting on the bird with the shadowed background. While these guys are pretty colorful, I have to agree with Phil that this image feels significantly oversaturated. Even if these colors are accurate, I would back off selectively on the saturation and vibrance. There should be feather detail in the red breast that isn't showing and I think the color intensity is one of the issues.

Maybe cut back a little, but this just pops out as is. A gorgeous little one with great colours and I'm also another fan of that lighting.

All the best Ed, my wife will love this one.

Danny.

Here is a repost with the saturation reduced -18 in CS3. I think it helped to recover a little detail but further reduction didn't help. Thanks guys for pointing that out. I was so mesmerized by the lighting that I completely overlooked the loss of detail. As to Philips suggestion, I cannot brighten it up as some highlights are already blown and I think that is the main reason for the detail loss.
As you can see by my shot settings in the op (ISO 160) and shutter speed of 1/40 sec. this was not a planned shot. The light was so extreme that it was the lowest ISO I have ever shot birds at. Anyway thanks again for the suggestions and comments. Very much appreciated.

Ed

The repost is an improvement. I really like this with just the light on the face. How special to see one of these! Sharon

I have to agree that the repost is a lot better. I really liked the original until I saw te repost. The pose with the bird emerging from the shadow is especially appealing.