What technical feedback would you like if any? Camera was set up for a flight shot and this one ducked into the shadows. Raw file was dark so I had to tame down the noise a bit.
What artistic feedback would you like if any? Comp OK?
Pertinent technical details or techniques: D500 200-400mm f4.0 at 280mm (1/2500 sec at f6.3, Iso 800) DeNoise, Levels, crop for comp. These jays are fast and as soon as I locked on one of them, they would duck behind a tree…Jim
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Jim, this is a beautiful bird, and you certainly captured it well. I think you did a wonderful job on the noise. The composition works for me. Glad that you were able to get a good shot of this Jay, even if your settings weren’t what you would have normally used for a perched bird.
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Very good, Jim. I really like the pose and your composition. Detail looks excellent and the depth of field works very well.
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Nice pose and composition, Jim. Your post-processing looks good. I find the background pines a bit too busy - the branch that intersects the head is also a little distracting. But not sure what you could have done given that you already had a pretty small dof.
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Hi Jim, I like the pose and the critical focus seems spot on. I like the setting except not a big fan of the branches behind the bird’s head. A fine image overall.
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These are cute little fellows and you’ve captured that sense nicely. I like the pose and the detail looks good. A very natural setting, though I might try to clone out the branch above the head.
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Hi Jim, Not to be pedantic, but they’ve renamed this species Canada Jay. Haven’t gotten used to it either; keep calling them Gray Jay. Guess the Canadians are happy, though!
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I rarely keep track of common names for birds. I think that the AOU has a deal with field guide authors to produce updated bird books with the new name changes added 
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