Rainbow Bee-eater

[Paul Burdett]

Hi all. This Bee-eater posed nicely for me.

D500/500PF, 1/640th sec, f5.6, iso500, manual mode, HH. Cheers.

[Bill Dix]

A beautiful bird in a sweet pose, with good background. You might consider toning down the brightness of the perch.

[Dorian Anderson]

Lighting wasn't ideal, but I think this represents a really nice frame regardless. The direct stare/scowl is very engaging and sucks us right in. The frame does feel unbalanced with the bird crammed into the lower right. You have the resolution, so I'd jettison some of the empty space at top and left. That eye is gonna dominate a tighter crop - in a good way!

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Bill. Thanks for the feedback. I actually did tone down the brightness of the perch, but yes, it could use more. Cheers.
Dorian: Good points...thank you. The branch to the right of the bird was quite distracting...lots of criss/cross branch bits, so that's why I cropped as I did. I realize that I could clone out the distracting bits and in hindsight I should have. However, I'll go back and rethink the crop. Thanks again.

[David Seymour]

Hi Paul, I agree with the comments and suggestions given, but I also just really love this image. The bird is stunning, and that red eye is mesmerising! The optical quality of the 500 PF really shines, and I’ll look forward to seeing more from you with the new rig.
Cheers, David

[gail bisson]

This is a really good frame.
Bee-eater looks great.
I would try to tone down the highlights on the fringes of the feathers on the right side of bird.
Agree there is too much space up top and would take some off the top.
A lovely frame,
Gail

[Brian Sump]

Paul, though the lighting angle is most optimal, the image does still have some very good appeal.

Very sharp with the new gear, bet you're loving it!? The bkg is nice and looks like you processed the colors nicely.

Comments above regarding highlights I think would help as well.

TFS

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks so much for the feedback.
David: Yes, I'm really enjoying the Nikon gear...although my hip pocket said "Ouch!":eek3:
Gail: I did reduce the highlights on the fringes, but as you say, not enough. I used a luminosity mask (in this case Lumi32 from Jimmy McIntyre...worth getting IMHO).
Brian: One good thing about the new gear is that by being further away from the bird, when it's high in a tree (as in this case), the steep shooting angle is negated somewhat by the longer focal length. Cheers.

[annmpacheco]

Well done, a very pretty frame. I agree with the mentioned highlight suggestions... Glad to hear you are not sending back your new rig!

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Ann,
Thank you. I went back and reduced the highlights on the fringe and perch, as well as cropping as suggested. I think it's better but welcome further comments. Cheers

[arash_hazeghi]

great frame the tighter crop is much better, light angle mentioned but pretty much perfect other than that

TFS

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks Arash...really appreciate your feedback.

[John Mack]

Love the colors on these birds. The vertical framing works very well. The repost is a improvement over the original.

[Paul Burdett]

Cheers John:S3: