Project #1 - Nathan Scovill Picture Assignment...is this how I do this?

I have no idea if I'm posting correctly. But here we go anyways.

This is a photograph that was initially taken while I was a missionary in Paraguay. I was visiting a zoo at the time and happened to snap this photo of a hawk that I cannot remember the name of. It was something in Spanish, which wouldn't help me either way.

What did I do with this photo? Why would I post this? Doesn't this specifically go against the whole "don't just look through your phone for something that works" rule?

Well, I did find an old photo to use as my base for this image. After taking a series of photos and finding myself unsatisfied, I found the unedited version of this photo while showing my wife pictures from Paraguay and I knew that this image had the most meaning. I had a base to work with, but I refused to just turn in an old photo. This class is about creating an image, not finding images. The original image was much brighter and in color. As you can see, I left the hawk's eye in color. Removing the color seemed to drain the intensity out of the look this bird was giving me at the time. After adjusting the color, I then darkened the edges, focusing mostly on the corners and the left side. There are some imperfections in the doctoring of the photo, which is likely born from having to use a mouse rather than a tablet and the inherent clumsiness of my hands. The feeling behind this photo? I find it hard to pin down. Helplessness. Determination. Sadness. Nobility. The hawk's situation is destitute and saddening. But its eyes are predatory and focused even still.

I was supposed to write one paragraph. This is four. I should stop now. Thanks for looking!