What a pretty bird; such beautiful colors. You did a great job photographing it with a nice sharp eye and catch light. You said you cloned out a tree in the background and I'm wondering if that made the top of the head a little blurred on the outside edge? If you're able to bring back the sharpness there, that would be one suggestion. It also seems to me the bird needs even more dodging and a vignette might bring attention to it even more. The thorn right below the bird catches my eye since it's so light. An overall warmer tone might give more of a feeling of sunshine and warmth and complement the orange feathers. Just a couple of thoughts that popped into my head as I viewed it. Good luck with your entry!   Posted: 04/11/2026 20:47:25

This is a remarkable photo. I like Jan's modifications. I had not seen them before I did my own crop to the image, so all I did was to crop the image a bit more.
Great shot! It looks great just as it is, but these are slightly different perspectives to highlight the bird as subject.   Posted: 04/11/2026 21:16:10

I agree with the others. I felt a crop was also needed to better highlight the beautiful bird and simplify the scene a bit more. You did a great job of capturing this bird.   Posted: 04/12/2026 17:33:22