When I first brought this one up in the voting booth it was at a larger scale and so I only saw about half the photo. Resizing it to your original crop, I thought the first view was better. You've done a decent job with the depth of field and focus so the bird's face is clear and shows his character. But I feel it's too far away. I'd suggest cropping it much closer, from about halfway from the top of his head to the top border down to the bottom of that tuft of feathers on his chest. In that close you're on a personal level with this guy. I've been shooting photos and adjusting them on computers for a long time but I miss things that others spot right off, probably because it's mine and I'm looking too close. Try the crop on your own and maybe you'll agree.

What a great post Dave. The clarity and colors are stunning and it pops off my screen when I put it full screen. Excellent job you've done here.

I agree with Anita, it really does jump out at you when it's enlarged. The wind blown feathers are a really nice touch to this as well. Very nice post you've shared with us Dave.

I actually did crop this but decided to post the original. The cropping took the wide open feel out of the pic and in my mind it needed to be there. After all, the sky is the bird, it's their domain - what they are about. I wasn't after a "personal level" feel with this - more of a, hmmm, "big picture" feel. If that makes any sense -

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I love this...just as it is! perfection! Terrific capture! Congratulations!