Green Broadbill (Male)

[Phil Liew]

Green Broadbills are constantly under deep canopy cover. This was a chance shot to get this little fella in a opening. Taken at Bukit Tinggi, Pahang, Malaysia, this male broadbill has a lovely sheen with black markings around the head and wing coverts. The female is just a plain dull green throughout!

5D + EF600mm + 1.4II ext
1/40s f/8.0 EV -1/3 iso400 Av mode Evaluative metering Fill flash -2

http://www.pbase.com/996sps/image/76636309.jpg

[Ramon M. Casares]

I was going to comment about the BG but for what you've told us, I think that it looks preety good as the bird stands out perfectly and the BG still says something about habitat, the light and Details are excellent, the exp loog good and the eye contact seems preety great to me, I only wish for a little higher angle of view. Still, congratulations!! Great shot!

[Daniel Cadieux]

Like Ramon I don't mind the BG too much considering its' habitat, but I don't really care for the thick branch coming out of its head - the rest is OK with me. I also wish for less room below and more in front of the bird. Awesome looking species, the greens are beautifully vibrant. I like the matching "short" bill along with the short tail :-)

[Julie Kenward]

Beautiful catchlight in the eye and you got a nice head angle, too! I think the portrait is definitely worthy of trying to declutter that BG a bit or to at least subdue and blur it some more.

[Krijn Trimbos]

This definetely is one of the most beautiful birds on the planet! And I have rarely seen any shots of it in the open so congrats on that! The BG is not ideal IMO but is OOF enough to make it work pretty well, I would probably also try to blur it a bit more. Love the contrast and green saturation of the bird, as well as the headturn. I would be happy to have this!

[Robert O'Toole]

Wow. Just fantastic. the greens are amazing and the head angle and eye contact is super.

The BG clutter doesnt bother me so much since it looks 100% natural, but i would remove some of the multiple catchlights and leave a single one to make the image to keep that natural in the forest look.

I know how hard this type of image is. I have been to SIN and Malay before!


Robert

[Chris van Rooyen]

Great achievement to capture this species - incredible looking bird:eek: Well done on getting the bird sharp with such a long exposure- background is fine with me, I would perhaps remove the thin straight line.

[Simon Bennett]

Amazing bird, excellent detail and head-turn.

[John Chardine]

Just when you think you have seen everything, another species pops up like this! Great image of an amazing species- excellent exposure, sharpness and colour. The green looks like pigment green rather than structural colour. Not many birds are really green. The only thing I would change is the crop- less room below and a little more to the left in the direction the bird is facing would be optimal. There's a possible flash catchlight in the eye which you may consider removing if it is so. Congratulations Phil on this one!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

What a cool-looking bird, great details and exposure control. A cleaner BG would be desirable but I'm glad I got to see an image of this species. Thanks for sharing!

[Johnny Bravo]

Terrific bird, terrific shot. I'm fine with the bg---(but then I'm not a fan of the 'perfect pictures must fit this formula' critique club). I'd like it cropped with more room in front of the bird, but it's terrific as is. (Having spent a few afternoons trying to catch mannikins in decent light in the jungles of Costa Rica, I really appreciate the patience and luck involved in a shot like this. Nice work!