Common Hawk-cuckoo --BR Hills

[Goutham Shankar]

Camera: Nikon D40
Lens: 55-200 VR

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Goutham,
Welcome to Indiawilds!

Please post the exif details (shutter speed, aperture), ISO, whether it is cropped etc so that it becomes easier to comment. Was it taken during the Safari or in the camp?

Difficult lighting for you, as the face is not lighted. Would love a bit more sharpness. Were you handholding?

I think the focus is on the body and tail. So the body and tail portion has come out better and the depth of field was not sufficient to cover the eyes.

An off center composition makes the image dynamic. So you may try creating an offcentre composition with more space in the direction the subject is looking.

Thanks for sharing. Look forward to more.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[AB Apana]

Hi Goutham,

Agree about the sharpness and compo. Not sure if you have already cropped this. I would also try the Shadow-Highlight filter to make the bird stand out a bit.

Apana

[Goutham Shankar]

Thanks Apana.

Exif Details:

f5.6
200mm
1/3000
-.03 ev
ISO 400
manual focus
Cropped image

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Goutham,
Shutter speed was 1/3000?

As I had mentioned in my previous comment that depth of field is not sufficient. You have clicked this image at f5.6. Using f8 or f11 would have decreased the shutter speed by 1 stop and 2 stops respectively, but would have given you higher depth of field. So more areas would have been in focus.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi