Is it always mating season for peacocks? :)

[vicphotog]

yesterday on my hunt for the elusive chocolate lily (futile, didn't find them) I crossed through a large gravel lot in the park where this hen was almost in the centre nesting and digging in the dirt, while being circled by at least 3 males.... she made it very clear that my presence annoyed her, but I managed to get a few shots anyway and this is my favorite... C&C is always welcome

[Sam Smith]

rachel.

I like Peacocks also. The image looks sharp on my work monitor which is not calibrated. I like how close you shot the main subject and the feathers have good defintion. A couple things that are not working fior me is the other bird in the background takes my attention away from the main subject. I understand that they were circling her, also the plume on her head seems to get lost in the brown of the tree in the background. Seems to me if you had stepped camera left about 1 to 1.5 steps both things would have been not have been in frame .

[vicphotog]

thank you Sam Smith (I'm going to need to see that id.....)
I'm posting another shot where I did actually move to the left (she kept getting up and turning her back to me, so catching her head on was difficult! lol)
The second shot does not have the male in the background, and I'm glad you pointed out that her plume is somewhat lost in the foliage... I didn't really notice that so your perspective is quite helpful... overall the shot is what I wanted with the male in the background but it's good to know when something that I like might not work for others

[MiniChris]

This is a very crude attempt at extracting, adding and replacing...kind of looks like one of those Jack-a-Loupe photo postcards from the early '50's. That said, the peacock really is white but was hard to pin down for a decent shot. Bad improvisation, but maybe you'llget the real picture.

[vicphotog]

what is the original background Chris? I don't think we have any albino peacocks here, too bad, I've seen a few shots online with the tails fanned and they are stunning

[MiniChris]

Trees, picnic tables, junk...really busy and quite unflttering...not that this is any better, but I wanted you to be able to see the whiteness of the bird.

[jiro]

I like the 2nd shot you have, Rachel. If I may comment, I would recommend some leveling of the image as it looks like its tilted to the left. The color of the pavement is much too close to some of the colors of the feathers. That kind of weakens the separation between the background and the main subject. I would probably burn the pavement a little bit so the feathers would stand out more. A little more sharpening on the peacock wouldn't hurt.

[vicphotog]

Chris, I like the bird on the bench, he looks very confident that he absolutely belongs standing there lol - and the whiteness does come across...

Willie, of course your comments are quite welcome, the hen does blend with the ground, it's not pavement it's dirt and gravel, she's dug herself a little nest... maybe part of the mating ritual? I'm still figuring out photoshop, so haven't quite got a handle yet on burning sections of photos, but I'll pay around with it as I do see what you mean.... It's also slanted a little on purpose...too much maybe lol