First Attempt--Kestrel

Good look at this Kestrel - but the sky just does not look right -- need to work on exposure to make the sky look more natureal

Good first attempt Jeff. The TJ estuary can be very productive. I am not sure why the wire is blurred, but the bird is not? An alternate composition might be to place the bird's head in the upper right 1/3 of the frame. Dave

Hi Jeff, Welcome to NPN if we haven't greeted you already. The Kestrel looks good in the larger version. The sky is way over saturated. Try to keep things looking natural. What ever pushed the sky to this point may well be the cause of the odd dark halo on the wire. It would be worth going back to the original to confirm it isn't there. Composition wise, try to leave room for them to move. In this case more canvas both to the left and on top.

Thanks for the comments! I didn't think about the sky while processing. Am new to processing as well, so will keep saturation levels down. The apparent shadow on the wire is actually another OOF wire behind the bird. Had to look at other shots to find it.

Hi Jeff:

I think you've received good input on this image. The sky is really electric is this image to it's detriment. Composition is a bit crowded on the left. Here's a very quick shot a processing to provide a look at the image with a sky that might feel a bit more natural and a bit more canvas on the left to see what a composition might look like with more room. Of course, best to capture all of this in camera, rather than post processing, but still worth a look to see potential.

The Kestrel is nice and sharp in the larger version, Jeff. I'm not sure what the oof black line above the cable is, but I'd clone it out. I think the image could be lightened a bit-the sky looks unnaturally dark and/or oversaturated. A steep angle, but that seems to be what Kestrels usually give us.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!