Elusive Belted Kingfisher

[Arnold Dubin]

This photo of the female Belted Kingfisher was taken at the Viera Wetlands the morning of February 18, 2009.

Camera - Nikon D200<o></o>
Lens - Nikon 500mm f-4 manual focus<o></o>
Teleconverter - Nikon 1.4X<o></o>
Format - RAW<o></o>
ISO - 400<o></o>
Speed - 1/1250 sec<o></o>
Aperture - f-8<o></o>

The image was capture from my car window with camera resting on beanbag<o></o>

I used Lightroom 2 to crop, enhance tonal range, sharpen image.<o></o>
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This photo was cropped to 12% of its original size.<o></o>
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I would appreciate critiques on this photo.<o></o>
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Thanks, ADubin<o></o>

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the eye contact and BG. Do you mean you cropped 12% or is this 12% of the full frame? I would crop a bit off the bottom, add some on the right, sharpen the bird and run NR on the BG.

[Arnold Dubin]

It is 12% of the full frame.


I like the eye contact and BG. Do you mean you cropped 12% or is this 12% of the full frame? I would crop a bit off the bottom, add some on the right, sharpen the bird and run NR on the BG.

[Grady Weed]

It is quite a big crop Arnold. You can tell because of the noise in the background. I do like your pose and positioning here. Maybe try posting a 50% crop for comparison? I bet you will get more details and better image quality. Just my 2 cents. I was just at Viera last week. I did not see any Kingfishers.

[Arnold Dubin]

Is there way I can post a photo I modified on this thread? ADubin

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Is there way I can post a photo I modified on this thread? ADubin

You can reply to your own thread and upload a repost. It's always good to keep the original image so that viewers can compare the versions.

[Arnold Dubin]

I used NIK to reduce the noise in the BG. I re-cropped per Axel's recommendation. Let me know what you think of my re-post photo now. Thanks ADubin

[Art Kornienko]

Some type of noise bottom middle to right hand side.

[Nancy A Elwood]

Nicely done! And I know that bird. Very predictable. But, I would back off a bit on the crop to reduce the noise and increase the sharpness. To get an idea of the crop I mean look at my website, from below, and under the recent gallery. I have images of her with similiar equipment, but with a D300 and the AFS II version of the 500. Also, although I use a D300 now, when I did use a D200, I would try to keep the iso at 320 or below again, also to reduce the noise factor. And, I use NX2, but I go back after cropping and use selective high pass sharpening just on the subject. So far, every morning that I have been to Viera the past month she is on that same near perch, but only very first thing in the am. After that she stays in the middle or far stumps.

[Arnold Dubin]

Nancy, Thank you for your advice. I met you out at the Wetlands in July of 2008 and we exchanged a couple Emails. I will probably run into you again since I'm out there at least once a week. I also have a Website setup with my photos. If you have a chance you can take a look at it. It is http://www.dubinphotography.net/Nature. Have a great day, ADubin

[Arnold Dubin]

Axel, Thank you for providing me your critique. ADubin

[Arnold Dubin]

Grady Weed, Thank you for your inputs, ADubin

[Arnold Dubin]

Art Kornienko, Thank you for your comments, ADubin