White-bellied Sunbird

[Pieter de Waal]

82845

Taken in Kruger Park a while ago. Light was a little harsh.

30D/Sigma170/500@500mm/f6.3@1/600/iso400. Beanbag from vehicle about 80% FF added canvas at the bottom.

[Greg Basco]

Hi, Pieter. I think you handled the light really well. Exposure looks great. If the bird were turned slightly more toward you, that would be a nice bonus but that's not a huge deal to me. I think there may be a halo effect around the bird, perhaps from selective noise reduction on the background. Could just be my eyes this early in the morning though.

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Daniel Cadieux]

Great bird, and you handled the harsh light well. I too wish the HA was more towards us, and I find the overall comp cramped - pulling back on the zoom would have given you more leaway comp-wise. I see dirty smudging around the flower and bird, I wonder what happened there?

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Very nice bird, it has some nice colors and the beak remainds me of a hummingbird. Ditto Greg about the head turn but is not a big problem as I see it. May be the high shooting angle is what bothers me a bit.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Pieter, now why didnt I see any sunbirds in Kruger when I was there. Lovely iridescence, and I agree with the others that there is some funny stuff going on around the edge of the aloe.

[Pieter de Waal]

Thanks all for your feedback I can now see what you have pointed out - eagle eyes all of you - but I don't know what happened either. No cloning or alterations done. I have been back to the raw and there seems to be something there but very faint. Perhaps the NR, reverse curve and jpeg conversion may have accentuated it. The original was underexposed which I corrected in CS4 so that also may have something to do with it.