Did I take to much liberty in post? American Kestrel

Thanks Paul, I appreciate your candidness... I felt a bit shakey uploading it as well... It was strange, I almost could have used settings similar for some type of ethereal romance shot such as a wedding or engagement shoot with humans, but I had never tried anything quite like that with an animal or bird...

I liked the subject and wanted to deliver the subject without distracting from it... In almost all cases, IMHO they look wonderful and are only correct in the natural setting that I capture them in... In this case unfortunately, the "setting" actually took away from the image completely...

I have a professor at the National Wildlife Federation that has asked me to get some photos of him of the American Kestrel in this area... He wants them for educational purposes for slides in his presentations and etc. I have quite a few others and couldn't decide if I'd send him this one or not. After thinking about it, I'll send it and let him decide if he wants to use that one or not!

Thanks again and All the best!