I took this picture through the back kitchen window, this was the only one where the screen didn't really show up. I fixed it up a bit on my photo program...changed the brightness, contrast, and color a bit.
Perhaps it was the screen that resulted in the soft focus, but in any case this looks more like a painting than a photo, which is not a bad thing at all. Next time you're shooting in bright sunlight, though, you should try taking a few shots with lower exposure settings -- this will help to avoid those bright white areas where the details have been "blown out."
G'day Amanda,
I can see why you wanted this photo. The colours of those flowers are gorgeous and the blue of the bluejay complements them well. In terms of composition it's an interesting division from corner to corner with colour and light in one half and shadows and green in the other. The soft focus works I think, could maybe even be a bit more soft, you know, work with the limitations the situation puts on you. Ideally the shadows would have a bit more detail and the flowers would have a little less light. :) Photographing birds is never easy, they're small and fast, this is a good effort under the circumstances.
Peace,
Mikel.