Craig Brelsford
07-05-2011, 09:01 AM
The birder who misses Taiwan has lived an incomplete life. The mountains of the beautiful island are yet another island, holding many endemics. Here's one: the white-whiskered laughingthrush. I found this little guy on Mt. Hehuan. I took this shot nearly three years ago but processed it only last month. Back in 2008, I buried the image because I thought that the bricks ruined the picture. I don't think so anymore. My laughingthrush's bill is dirty, but characteristic of this frisky species; white-whiskereds are inquisitive and fearless, sticking their beaks into everything. My front-on shot denies you a glimpse of the beautiful orange tones on the outer fringes of the primaries, but you'll be hard-pressed to find an image that captures that brown, faintly scaled breast more faithfully than mine.
Device: Nikon D300
Lens: Sigma 120.0-300.0 mm f/2.8
Focal Length: 300mm
Focal Length in 35 mm Film: 450mm
Aperture: F/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/160
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Comp.: None
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 200
Subject Distance: 3.6 m
Photoshoppery: Little. I noise-reduced the bricks once, to soften them. I noise-reduced the BG and sharpened the laughingthrush.
Device: Nikon D300
Lens: Sigma 120.0-300.0 mm f/2.8
Focal Length: 300mm
Focal Length in 35 mm Film: 450mm
Aperture: F/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/160
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Comp.: None
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 200
Subject Distance: 3.6 m
Photoshoppery: Little. I noise-reduced the bricks once, to soften them. I noise-reduced the BG and sharpened the laughingthrush.