White checked turaco (Tauraco leucotis)

[Juan Aragonés]

This is for sure one of my favourite photographs from 2007. I photographed this beauty on an immense aviary and instead of the fact that this is a captive specimen by no way it was an easy shot. There was a pair of turacos in this aviary but they were very shy and most part of the time they were in the shadows. The enclosure was really big, about 10 m tall and about 50 m long and with a dense tropical vegetation covering all the and leaving just enough space for a small trail for the visitors. I spend several hours sitting on the ground, hidden between plants, and almost motionless waiting for my opportunity. After a long waiting this guy came close to get a decent portrait under nice light conditions and here is. ffice:office" /><O:p></O:p>
Your comments and critics are highly appreciated
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Nikon D2X, AF Nikkor 80-400VR (360mm) 1/250s f5,3 ISO250, handheld, VR 0n

[Alfred Forns]

Outstanding Juan !!!! Would be my favorite also !!! Unusual to have the eye centrally placed and be so appealing Love the colors and sweet face !!! Big Time Congrats on this one !!!!!!

[Keith Kennedy]

Juan, simply a stunning image. Your patience certainly paid off. Congratulations.

[robert hazelwood]

Beautiful, photo. The one thing I found distracting was the multiple catch lights in the eye. If that was cleaned up it would greatly improve the image.

[Anita Rakestraw]

Wow, you should be proud of this; you were soooo patient to sit there for so long, waiting....glad your patience paid off! Gorgeous bird, fabulous image!

[Gus Cobos]

Very nice Juan,
Really love this one. Composition is great, and yesss... the colors are out of this world...:D

[Fabs Forns]

What an spectacular image, big congratulations, Juan!!!

A big winner :)

[James Salywoda]

Stunning Shot!!!!

[Judd Patterson]

Great work! I love the soft lighting here and the beautiful background to showcase the colors. I can certainly see why this is a favorite, Juan!

[Stuart Frohm]

Thanks very much for posting this superb photo and also for showing me a bird I'd never seen.

[Steve Wheeler]

Echo all of the above Juan... Absolutely GORGEOUS bird and your image captures him perfectly! Thank you for sharing this!

Steve

[Lana Hays]

Juan
Patience has paid its dividend....big time with this one. I just love this......it looks like a studio portrait. This is such a gorgeous bird.....especially all those stunning colors. This is breathtaking.

[Arthur Morris]

Just saw this one, Juan, and am glad that I did not miss it as it is spectacularly well done. Love the colors, COMP, the sharpness, and esp. the BKGR.

later and love and way to go. artie

[Gayle Clement]

Marvelous detail in this very beautiful bird portrait. I enjoyed your story of the "hunt".