Rufous-naped Wren

This was taken in Costa Rica. The IQ isn't the best but this was the best pose that the wren gave me. All C&Cs are welcome and appreciated

Canon 1D MK IV
500L f4
1.4 Extender
ISO 500
f9
1/200s
Tripod
Manual Mode

What a super pose, and just love the perch and BG. It all came together nicely. You may be able to tease out a few more details in the feathers with some Nik structure adjustments. What was the purpose behind the ISO 500? This camera can give amazing quality images at higher ISO's and maybe a higher speed would have helped if you had a subject moving around a lot.

Thanks Marina for the comment and question. I was shooting another bird in good light and this guy popped up. I didn`t change the ISO setting for this sequence of images but wish I had. I don`t have NIK software just CS5, maybe I should look into getting it.

Hi Jim, nice portrait of the wren! I agree that a little more feather detail could be had. Have you tried high pass sharpening?

Excellent pose, exposure & perch. Nice HA.

Even with the softness this is very nice, a very cool looking wren, one I have never seen.

Hi Jim, The angle of the bird holding-on makes this picture eye catching. The wren also matches the environment. Good picture.

Hiran

The IQ isn't too bad really, a little more detail maybe but quite OK imo....lovely clear eye and like the stance the bird has adopted, subtle and smooth backdrop as well

Wonderful pose, Jim; I love the tension with the bill tip just millimeters from the tree. I agree with Phil; the IQ really isn't bad, but not perfect. I also agree that Topaz Detail or Nik Detail Extractor might tweak it just a bit. It looks to me like you pushed the sharpening on bird AND tree to try and bring out the bird, resulting in a little oversharpening of the tree.

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions.

Excellent image. Beautiful pose,nice lights,details and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

Nice shot, Jim. I like the vertical pose. That's a huge bill.