Please pick the best one...

Pat664422

I am thinking about entering one of these in a contest in my local camera club. I would appreciate any feedback as to which is the best and also any comments in general about them. These were taken with my D300 and 70-300mm VR. Thank you!

#1



#2



#3



#4



#5

Harryb

I would go with #5

Ric Grupe

[quote=

Harryb

]I would go with #5[/quote]

What #5? I don't see a pic for the #5 label.

Cuong

Ric Grupe wrote:

What #5? I don't see a pic for the #5 label.

Is #5 the reflection in #4? Or maybe Harry's vision allows him to see something that mortals like us can't.

Cuong

SloYerRoll

Well it looks like 2 ppl voted for 5 anyway

ShepsMom

I think Harry saw a squirrel that blurred his vision for a while
I like #2

Harv

I don't see number 5 either but it would have to be awfully good to beat number 4 which got my vote. Beautiful image.

Maestro

For me it is number 3. The black background really makes the white plumage stand out. It also has great eye contact with nice plumage gently laying down straight almost flowing down.

The Red Shouldered Hawk, (I think that is what it is), are fine shots but the perch is a utility pole. I realize it is difficult not to find a hawk on a utility pole or line, but for a contest I would much rather want to see a natural perch.

Number 4 again is nice but the whites are overexposed on the backside and the face is dark.

Number 5? I can't see it. Is it an abstract?

M. Lentz

Can't see #5, but to me its easy... #3 all day long. The top two have too much empty space around them and I'm also not crazy about the choice of a perch. (of course you can't help that) #4's backlighting is fine and the birds shadow is a plus, but its just too dark to see enough facial detail.

Pat664422

Thanks very much to all who responded with feedback and all who voted. It was a great help as I have a tough time making decisions like this.

I went with #3 because at the time before I had to leave today it had the most votes - typical procrastination on my part to not post the poll earlier. I was strongly considering #4 as well.

In the photography club critique, I realized I made a major mistake - not using fill flash on any of these shots, but especially with the egret. Ah well, a lesson learned and another excuse to go practice some more tomorrow!

DsrtVW

I liked the contrast in #3 although the red x in #5 was striking. The fill flash may or may not have helped depending on distance and it might have scared off your subject limiting your other follow up shots. Most birds do not care for flash.

swintonphoto

#4 but crop it vertically.