Andean Flicker (Chile)

[Dorian Anderson]

I photographed this amazing bird about 200 feet from yesterday's Glacier Finch, also at 14,500 feet. It was
the only individual of this species that I saw in my month in the country, so I am stoked with this result.

Canon 600mm f/4 IS II + 1.4x III on EOS R5
1/1000 at f/5.6, ISO 1600
Processed in LR CC with a gentle pass through Topaz for NR. Nothing added or cloned.

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[Ian McLachlan]

Great stuff Dorian.A gem of a bird in a perfect place and BG. I really like this light as it seems to have brought out those beautiful soft colours.a great left foot ! I will go to work on my kingfisher again .

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Dorian ... nice clean shot with a superb BG . Great to have some tonal variations in the BG .
I do like the curved " perch " and the " cocked head " of the subject .

Tones looking good , as are the fine details which are showing up nicely . Only thing that bothers me is the WB ... looks a bit " off " on the yellow side . Everything has this yellowish look ...:w3 and colors are not much separated .

Still a nice image though , TFS Andreas

[Colin Driscoll]

A fine pose and IQ. With the color of the bird, rocks and BG it is almost a sepia image. Maybe dodge the cheek stripe to bring out the red some more.

[Volkan Akgul]

hi Dorian,

congratulations.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dorian, excellent light and IQ, and love the pose. Good DOF on the Flicker, and nice and sharp. I do like the smooth upper BG. I see you had a fabulous trip in Chile.

[Brian Sump]

Dorian, very well executed shot. Fantastic perspective gives the feeling of you hanging off of a cliff, love it.

The purity of the image is noted with no cloning. Beautifully sharp across the focal plane. Great HA.

Overall, it felt a bit green and yellow to me. I pulled it into LR and went -5 warmth and +8 tint and seems to really pull out the grays and magenta in the neck. Maybe take a peek and see what you think.

[Paul Burdett]

No nits from me Dorian. Interesting comments regarding the colour casts (yellow/green). I do see the yellow, but as I'm unfamiliar with this species I can't comment. I'm just wondering if the perception of these colour casts has more to do with each person's (assuming calibrated) monitor than the actual accuracy of the colours in the bird?

[Dorian Anderson]

Thank you all for the feedback. Getting the WB right on new species in new settings is a challenge, so it's always good to have other eyes double checking. Here's a version incorporating some of the offered suggestions. Cheers!

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