Rainbow Bee-eater with large Dragonfly

[Peter Scholer]

Nikon D7000 + 600mm VR
Aperture: 7
Shutter: 1/1250
Exp. Comp.: 0.0
ISO: 400
Program: Manual
Time: 7:13:06 AM
Raw -Capture NX2 - tiff - Photoshop for cropping, tonal adjustments and resize.
This is my Avatar. The large dragonfly was swallowed after several attempts!
Federation Walk Coastal Reserve, Gold Coast, Australia.
CC most welcome, thanks for looking Peter.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks for posting this Peter. That is one spectacular dragonfly. Please post the full frame version that I saw online elsewhere; Mr. Kes is right--this is an awkward crop. EXP and SH are right on.

[Daniel Cadieux]

As a fan of portrait close-ups like this I am really enjoying the details. The bee-eater has a pleasing head angle and the prey is pointed in the right direction (I always find it a bummer when prey in the bill is pointing away). I agree the original crop is not ideal and Peter's take on it is an improvement. I'd look into seeing if some of the blacks where the lower mandible intersects the dragonfly can be lifted a bit without introducing processing artefacts.

[Gary Hamilton]

I love the details, the colors, the BG and that huge dragonfly but, as mentioned above, the original crop does not work for me. Nor does the re-cropped version. Because we are missing a lot of the bird here, I find the perch distracting and it doesn't seem to add anything to the image. I think the image might benefit by cropping out the perch and taking a bit off the top. Just my 2cents. YMMV. :S3:

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Peter, great detail on both the BE and dragonfly, and I like Peter's crop version. Colours spot on, sharp, and Im fine the with sky BG.

[Peter Scholer]

Hi Peter,
Nice action captured. How big was your crop ? As a near horizontal, I have the feeling that parts of the lower body are missing.
A vertical crop would work better for me, as attached, creating a more portrait composition.
Is there a particular reason for the lower body parts missing ?
Thankyou for your helpfull CC
The image was cropped along these lines because it is my Avatar. Agree it has parts missing. I will post more of it below soon. Cheers Peter.

[Peter Scholer]

Thanks for posting this Peter. That is one spectacular dragonfly. Please post the full frame version that I saw online elsewhere; Mr. Kes is right--this is an awkward crop. EXP and SH are right on.
Pleasure. Thanks for helpful CC Artie. Will post full image very soon. Cheers Peter.

[Peter Scholer]

As a fan of portrait close-ups like this I am really enjoying the details. The bee-eater has a pleasing head angle and the prey is pointed in the right direction (I always find it a bummer when prey in the bill is pointing away). I agree the original crop is not ideal and Peter's take on it is an improvement. I'd look into seeing if some of the blacks where the lower mandible intersects the dragonfly can be lifted a bit without introducing processing artefacts.
Thanks Daniel for great CC. Will post full bird soon with blacks lifted. Cheers Peter.

[Peter Scholer]

I love the details, the colors, the BG and that huge dragonfly but, as mentioned above, the original crop does not work for me. Nor does the re-cropped version. Because we are missing a lot of the bird here, I find the perch distracting and it doesn't seem to add anything to the image. I think the image might benefit by cropping out the perch and taking a bit off the top. Just my 2cents. YMMV. :S3:
Thanks Gary. Good ideas will post full bird soon. Cheers Peter.

[Peter Scholer]

Hi Peter, great detail on both the BE and dragonfly, and I like Peter's crop version. Colours spot on, sharp, and Im fine the with sky BG.
Hi Stuart. Thanks for helpful CC. Am going to post full bird soon. Cheers Peter.

[Peter Scholer]

Here is the full bird. Thanks for CC everyone much appreciate.
Feel free to crop if you think it improves the image.
Cheers Peter.

[Richard Flack]

Hi Peter, awesome dragon fly and nice to get nice head angle on what is a stunning bee-eater. IMO I would try and make the most of the vertical comp without going portrait. TFS

[Arthur Morris]

Much better but still not the full frame ORIG :).

As I am usually not a fan of boxy crops, and that includes this image, I went with a traditional 2X3 crop. A bit wider would work too.

Thanks for posting this.

[Peter Scholer]

Hi Peter, awesome dragon fly and nice to get nice head angle on what is a stunning bee-eater. IMO I would try and make the most of the vertical comp without going portrait. TFS
Thanks Richard
Cheers Peter

[Peter Scholer]

Much better but still not the full frame ORIG :).

As I am usually not a fan of boxy crops, and that includes this image, I went with a traditional 2X3 crop. A bit wider would work too.

Thanks for posting this.
Hi Artie
Here is the full frame original.
Thanks very much for your CC
Please feel free to edit as you wish.
Cheers
Peter

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Peter. It is great and super sharp. I'd go with a 2X3 vertical crop similar to my crop in Pane 14. I figured that you had lots more room :)

[Peter Scholer]

Thanks Peter. It is great and super sharp. I'd go with a 2X3 vertical crop similar to my crop in Pane 14. I figured that you had lots more room :)
Hi Artie. The crop you did in pane 14 looks excellent. Thank you very much for the helpful CC. I do appreciate it very much. Cheers Peter.

[Peter Scholer]

Thank you everyone for your helpful comments. Appreciate your time and comments. Cheers Peter.

[arash_hazeghi]

This is a great shot, when cropped as in pane 14. the original post was way too big in the frame.