'The mad conductor'

[Mike Farley]

Well done on capturing such an unusual pose.

Unfortunately, the bird's right wing has not done you any favours as that seems to be where the AF has settled. There is just about enough DOF to keep the eye within acceptable limits of sharpness, but stopping down a bit would not have gone amiss rather than shooting wide open. That said, I do appreciate that on anything other than a very bright day, finding the optimum balance between aperture, shutter speed and ISO is not easy. Nor is placing the focus point at the best position in the frame in the midst of all the action.

[Paul Heester]

Love this shot! Personally Im not bothered by the DOF issue as I can see the further wing sharpness is acceptable. Also like the darkening of background to focus our view.

[Mike Farley]

......I don't follow your view that the leading wing is 'too sharp' and 'jars' (as a consequence) but nonetheless welcome your honesty Mike; although you are of course a very naughty, bad Michael for critiquing in 'Photo Sharing', an apparent haven from critiquing. Bad, bad, Michael!

First off, as I hope is obvious, I do like this shot. Secondly, I reiterate that I do not underestimate the difficulties of achieving it. At a 400 focal length and the focussing distance you probably encountered, there would have been a vanishingly small depth of field to play with. Not forgetting that some of the area of sharpness is in front of the point of focus. Even going a stop smaller would not have gained you much.

Should I have not commented? Well, I would not have bothered if I thought it was a run of the mill effort. Yes, I do find that the sharpness of the wing is out of place with the remainder of the shot and draws attention to the head not quite being in focus. Were it mine, I wouid rein back a bit, but accept that it is subjective. If you are happy with the result, ultimately that is all which matters.