Liberty
by mbmcnabb

Comment by yanko:
Nice take to the challenge however the image needs some post editing work, IMO. The two problems for me is the low contrast and the low saturation. To fix this in photoshop I would use a Curves adjustment (click "options" and then "enhance per channel contrast" and then ok). Then I would use unsharp mask to boost the local contrast (i.e. settings similar to this: Amount=16, Radius=25, Threshold=1). This would make the image pop more both in color and contrast. This still won't get the white on the eagle's head whiter like it should so maybe also use Replace Color, which is under "Images/Adjustments" menu and use the eyedropper tool on the eagles head and then bump up the "Lightness" slider a bit to make it brighter. If you choose the right spot you will miminize brightening the white in the background.

Anyway, just some suggestions on improving this particular shot. If you were to reshoot I would suggest getting much lower and shooting up a bit so that you only got the blue background with the stars. That way you would avoid the bright white stripe which is a bit of a distraction, IMO.

Liberty
by mbmcnabb

Comment by levyj413:
My choice for the winner! Minor nitpick would be to light the eagle a little stronger (assuming this is something in your control!)

salt lake temple
by mbmcnabb

Comment by NovaTiger:
Image is a little right-leaning--horizon could have been straighter.

Is it critical that the viewer sees the trees and driveway? Perhaps you could try a tighter crop that focused more on the contrasting colors between the sky and temple. Blue and silver/light gray are a fantastic color combination--one of my favorites. The dark green also goes well with the gray, but I feel like it pulls attention away from where the strength of the image lies.

Nice saturation.

Day at the Zoo
by mbmcnabb

Comment by tonyv:
I think that this would have been a better picture if all of the mouth was included.

Day at the Zoo
by mbmcnabb

Comment by GuGi:
Very nice background to a beautiful animal, they fit together, but animal still the dominating part of the photograph.