For me, #2. It puts the bird in its environment.
You are all the best. I actually did print this with an even closer crop and I like it a lot, but was bothered by no context. I wonder if I can enter both (with more refinements based on your comments) and just tell the judges to pick their favorite :) Thank you for taking the time to dig deep and give me so much feedback.
If it were my image I would crop a little off of the top (sky) and the left of the 2nd (original I presume) image. I think the first is too tight.
Cherihorn wrote:
I've debated and debated and I finally decided to ask for your kind advice about how much I should crop this photo (or anything else you might suggest.)
I plan to enter it in a little photo contest. I've had it printed 4 times but keep refining.
I like #1 the best, but the photo is outstanding. You need to enter this somewhere, and I would suggest this:
https://photocontest.nwf.org/menu-home.aspx?comp_id=9A448998-5EC2-400F-B03B-9EF07FB0FF69
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