Good enough?

[EleanorW]

Hello

I have been toying with the thought of putting a picture in a wildlife art show, in the amateur division. Could use some thoughts and critiques if this picture would be 'good' enough... ie: am I properly in focus, whitebalance, etc. It looks pretty good to me, but I'm a newbie

 

[Nostregar]

To the extent that I'm any good at nature photography, I have a few things I would suggest.

Since you said it's a wildlife art show, I'd focus more on the bird. Right now, the first thing I see is the tree and actually only notice the woodpecker a few seconds later. If you had a tighter crop on the bird, it would be a lot better. Make the bird the first thing you notice.

I would also turn up the saturation and contrast a little bit once you've cropped in in order to make it more vibrant.

But, that's only my opinion, so take it as you will.