Got my eye on you

[Lance Peters]

Found this guy on a recent trip -had minimal gear with me - so did what I could.

D3
Nikon 200-400VR With 1.4 Converter
F5.6
1/30th
+0.7EV
800 ISO
Monopod

Followed him around for quite a while looking for the Background.

Cropped and sharpened.

Comments Welcome :)

[Tony Whitehead]

Interesting plumage textures and amazing eye reflection, Lance. Lovely pastel BG but I might be tempted to even up the brighter area right upper corner. I might have considered a slightly higher ISO on the D3 as you were obviously battling for light. A little work along the edge of the bill with the clone stamp in darken mode will eliminate the sharpening halo. Was this from your Cairns trip?

[Lance Peters]

Thanks Tony - this should be a bit better - Dont often do any cloning in P.S. Backed the sharpening down a bit - make it a little softer - might fit better with the pastel BG.

This was from a work trip to Brisbane - snuck out early in the morning to grab a few quick shots.

[Rob Drummond]

Nice one Lance , like the detail although you appear to have lost some in your repost. Where was it?

cheers
Rob

[Tony Whitehead]

The sharpness looks better in the OP to me, Lance. It's just the light halo on the really dark edges that catch my eye. If you zoom in close with a small brush, set the clone stamp to darken mode and then sample from the BG you can quickly paint away the pale halo without affecting any of the dark pixels. I used the same technique with the URC.

[Lance Peters]

Rob -- Yeh - gotts get some sleep - comin up on 24 hours awake, cant see or think straight - will fix it another day :)

[Lance Peters]

Thnaks Tony - see above response - Night all ;)

[Stu Bowie]

Lovely looking eye Lance, and overall, he certainly pops from the BG. Tony's repost with the work on the halo works well.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Very nice portrait and BG. Could you have moved to your right for a better head angle?

[Dan Brown]

Very nice portrait Lance! The third post is best for me! What is this species?

[Joerg Rockenberger]

Tony's repost is great. Love the sharpness and composition and the detail in the reflection in the eye. While a beautiful color I find the background a bit overpowering. JR