This is a beautiful image!
The bird’s angle is ideal, the body is turned slightly away, which is often not good, but in this case it shows off the beautiful pattern on its back. The head is turned for an ideal profile with the rich black contrasting with the reds and whites.
The surroundings are not distracting and provide environmental elements that add to the image.
I am sorry that I have no suggestions for improvement.
Superb!
Wonderful capture of this exotic bird! Does look like you are being told where to go. The environment is very pleasing, with the small rocks balancing the bird in the composition and BG is lovely, with the DOF fading away artistically. I like the landscape format to show the environment.
I wonder about having a tiny bit more canvas at the bottom and right, to give the bigger rock a little more room in the frame, and maybe darken the lights just a bit? Small thoughts, though, for a very nice capture.
Excellent calling pose, Sandy. I like the image in general, though the foreground rocks could stand being painted a mellower color (write to the Botswana Tourism folks about that). To me, it looks like you tamed them as much as is feasible without departing completely from reality.
Those rocks remind me of trying to shoot at a water setup in the hill country of Texas. The entire setup was limestone! Luckily I was too new at this game to realize what a mess I was making of things and enjoyed it anyhow.
Love the calling pose you captured Sandy and being able to see the pattern on the bird’s backside. The rather stark surroundings point out the bird’s habitat well. Nice exposure on the black and whites on the bird. Well done.
