Tui portrait

[Alex Becker]

Hi all,

A Tui portrait from New Zealand. While not a set up, this was taken in Zealandia, which is a predator free fenced preserve with feeders set up to keep the birds primarily nesting in the enclosed area and safe from cats, etc. BG is shadowed leaves and naturally very dark, although I did drop the exposure ~ 1/2 stop in Photoshop. Cloned out a bright leaf in the BG.

Camera: Nikon D500
Lens: 500mm f/4
Specs: 1/800 f/5.6 ISO 640

Thanks for looking and commenting on prior posts!
Alex

[kevin Hice]

What a great capture Alex beautiful and great details. I like the dark background goes right with this. Only pick I may have would reduce the highlights on the upper bill.That is being really picky on such a fine shot. TFS

[John Mack]

Love the low key look here. Nice detail on this very intersting bird. The pose is right on. Nice and sharp as well.

[dankearl]

Wow, another great photo posted here today!
Really nice, the bird is stunning, and the black BG is pretty cool.
Looks like the beak tip just our of focus plane but certainly acceptable.
I would also tone down the beak highlights and add come contrast which would
make it appear sharper.
Great image.

[Aditya Sridhar]

Very, very striking low-key portrait. I love how you've handled the exposure as it seems like an easy subject to over- or under-expose. The metallic sheen and the iridescence give this image color and depth. I'll go the other way and say that the highlights on the bill add to the image. There are many curves on the bird, starting from the beak, and toning down the highlights would work against that IMO. If anything, I'd give the whites just a very slight boost to make the shapes and curves pop a little bit more. Excellent work, Alex.

Edit: I can see some masking artifacts near the face - easy fix.

[gail bisson]

This is a beautiful portrait of a tui. I certainly did not get such a good shot.
Love the black BG and the details.
Perfect comp and exposure.
I like it as is but can see where Aditya's suggestions would improve an already fab image,
Gail

[Daniel Cadieux]

Wow, this is quite beautiful with the reflective feathers and the black background. Perfect head turn, well-balanced comp. If anything, I'd have preferred more dof for the back feathers. Nicely done man!

[Alex Becker]

Thanks all, much appreciated and glad you like it. I'll look at the HLs and play around (+ or -) with them a bit more. Aditya, good eye!! I had to tilt my screen to see that. Best,

[Dorian Anderson]

I am so envious of this shot. The color, contrast, and detail show this endemic perfectly. Could not have asked for a better background. I can see a processing artifact under the chin. This is a really memorable frame, bravo.

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

I love the image. Back ground is nice and Head Angle is beautiful.

Love the colors on feathers.

TFS