White-Bellied blue flycatcher

[Vivek Kale]

http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss78/kale_v1/Forum/Image_Kale_P124_1024.jpg


White-Bellied blue flycatcher female (cyornis pallipes) 15 cm
Endemic bird of western ghats, India. The image was made in rocky stream in dense evergreen forest last summer.

Canon 350 D + Canon 100-400 IS, handheld

f8, iso 400, 1/15 sec, no flash, 0 EC, evaluative metering.

This bird was kind enough to remain still while the camera took long exposure (which happened due to dark BG)

The image of this extemely shy bird was made by hidling behind a rock.

I have two specific questions. The bird closeup photographs often reveal the detail feather pattern and bristles around the beak.

How to avoid the irregularity in the fine feather pattern while sharpening ?

How to work for noise reduction in BG, in the zone behind the delicate bristles, without damaging the bristles ?

Cheers !

Vivek

[Kiran Poonacha]

I like the spot light effect here bhai, nice details with that SS, good pose and the dark Forest BG works well. only wished for some eye contact here...

I am not good at explaining PP in words Bhai, pls excuse me, the pro to follow will help you out..

keep them coming,

Regards,

Kiran.

[Dave Hassell]

The dark background makes the bird standout and the exposure and focussing look excellent.
With such a slow shutter speed the bird must have sat very still for you.

[Fabs Forns]

Hi Vivek, very nice bird that I've never seen. A little head turn your way would have been even nicer.
About your question, you can do selective sharpening, here's a tutorial on how to do that and more:
http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=834

[James Littlejohn]

Looks awesome. Gorgeous little bird. Love the blue colour. Amazing work for 1/15s. Selective sharpening/NR is pretty straightforward in photoshop using the lasso free selection tool to choose the areas you want to adjust.

[Vivek Kale]

Fabs, thanks for the link to the tutorial.
James, thanks for the tip.