New holland Honeyeaters

[Tony Kirkby]

A pair of very wary New holland Honeyeaters just before coming to drink at a pool along an almost dry creek. The pools also attracts Collared Sparrowhawks.

NikonD200
Sigma 500mm f4.5
f4.5
1/40sec
ISO200

[Daniel Cadieux]

Images featuring two birds on the same perch is always a great bonus. A better head turn by the left bird would put this over the top! Although this photo looks sharp enough I would consider bumping up the ISO next time in similar situations to give yourdelf a better chance for keepers - impressive for 1/40s.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great to have two in the frame. I agree on the eye contact. It could go a bit sharper and a slightly lower angle would have been nice. Here is a quick attempt after some sharpening, I also removed some streaks between the birds.

[Fabs Forns]

Great depth of field for f/4.5, is this a big crop?
Great to see two in the frame, specially interacting! Axel's repost makes it shine :)

[Bonnie Block]

Very interesting image--great looking birds. I like the improvement Axel has made to it.

[Tony Kirkby]

Thanks for the comments.
Axel-thanks for sharpening, they always look sharper (and noisier) to me before posting, maybe I should over sharpen?
Fabs-thanks for the comments and yes it's f4.5 and not cropped at all.

[Dave Phillips]

beautiful pair......are they actually a m/f pair?
I think Axel's sharpening and little pp really sets them off nicely

[John Cooper]

This pair of New holland H'eaters are very nicely portrayed here Tony. I like the interaction between the two birds. The extra USM has added greater impact.

[Maxis Gamez]

I really like the pose and colors on this one. Axel's post is terrific!

[Tony Kirkby]

Hi Dave

There's no difference in male and female plumage. When not breeding they do move around in small groups so they may or may not be a true pair.
Either way they would look the same!

[Don Lacy]

Very nice image of these beauties, just a little more USM as Axel's repost shoes can go a long way

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Thanks for the comments.
Axel-thanks for sharpening, they always look sharper (and noisier) to me before posting, maybe I should over sharpen?
Fabs-thanks for the comments and yes it's f4.5 and not cropped at all.

I don't think you should oversharpen. Did you sharpen before resizing?

[Tony Kirkby]

Axel-yes I sharpen before resizing

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Axel-yes I sharpen before resizing

That's what I figured. Sharpening should be the last step after resizing the image.

[Tony Kirkby]

Axel-here's another one. Sharpened after resizing as you suggested. Is this nearer the mark?

[James Salywoda]

Beautiful Shot!!!!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Axel-here's another one. Sharpened after resizing as you suggested. Is this nearer the mark?

Yes, the sharpness in this one looks much better.

[Stephen Earle]

I think Axel's repost improved the original a lot. Although you caught two of them I would have been tempted to loose the one on the left. Great colours and bg here.