About the Image(s)

Last week I went back to one of my favorite places to photograph, the Huntington Botanical Gardens in Pasadena, southern California. I was in the Japanese Garden when I spotted a few Goldfinches feeding themselves with gusto among these lovely lavender blooms. There was one bird who caught my attention because he seemed oblivious to my presence, although I did keep good distance between them and him and me because I didn’t want to interrupt what looked like a much enjoyable meal for everyone.
I shot the image with my Sony A 7III and my 50-400 mm Tamron lens. My settings were Shutter Priority, f6.3, 1/500 s, ISO 400, at 368mm.
Since what I wanted to highlight was how focused and enthused the bird was on his
meal, my processing in Adobe Photoshop involved a big crop, then using Camera Raw I increased the exposure some, as well as contrast and vibrance. I also adjusted the background to lighten it so as to make the bird pop. I also used the Remove tool to get rid of or lighten either withered buds and leaves around the bird which I thought were too distracting.
I am brand new in the group and want to fast forward improving my skills in both photography and processing in Adobe Photoshop. Your feedback is most welcome.