Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:8-11:
"We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me."

Go to your camera focus options.

You will find a "single-point AF" (a bracket with a smaller bracket or dot in the middle). This will let you focus on the subject selected focus point only.

If you are in "auto-area AF" (a bracket with a solid rectangle in the middle), your camera will automatically detect the subject and selects focus point. Thereby, your camera may focus on a branch instead of the bird.

Most excellent eerie-gator irrigator! Your patience paid off.

Well said.

Change your metering mode from pattern to spot metering. That should help you to auto focus on a single subject.

YEEEEEEHA!!! Most excellent!!!

Erv, if you're shooting a Nikon (as stated in your profile info) you may be able to set your camera to quiet shutter release. And once you start baiting the deer, don't ever quit...they'll stop coming around.
Just sayin'~

Thanks~

Thanks Steve. I appreciate the compliment.
I lightly adjusted the levels/contrast to eliminate the hazy appearance. I did not crop...to do so would reduce the natural vastness of the image. When it comes to editing, I find sometimes less is more.
Happy trails~

Your 2nd image


Lightly adjusted

Much better. May I suggest bumping up the contrast just a little? With your permission, I can show you what I mean. Will not post unless you say it's ok. A very thoughtful gift...something he will cherish forever. I did something similar years ago with a photo of my brother fishing...he still has it hanging on his living room wall. <sigh>

Opened thread...didn't like it...NEXT!!!
Sheesh...that didn't take long at all~
Come on people...if ya don't like it, just move on. It's not a huge deal. No need for a bunch of different categories.

BTW...if'n ya don't like the overprocessed HDR images or blurry Orton Effect images, then you certainly learned something...your learned that you don't like them.

'Nuff said.

Photoshop Elements 10 is relatively easy to use for the simple edits you described. I would recommend taking a class at one of your local community colleges or extension offices. The 'hands on' help is an excellent way to learn, and it doesn't cost an arm-and-a-leg. Don't sweat the layering...you don't need to use it until you want to try it later on. Simple edits (lighting, contrast, spot healing, etc) are very easily done in PSE 10. Don't be dismayed about the learning curve. Once you get it you'll realize how simple it is to use. Good luck...and happy editing!

Ditto. It was on the internet. Spectacular images for such a young photographer.