Resplendent Quetzal: My First XL Post

I, along with many other forum members, have been asking the site ownership for larger files sizes for quite a long time. Artie and James increased the posting limits a number of weeks ago, but I've not gotten around to taking advantage of the new guidelines until today. For my first XL image I've chosen the Resplendent Quetzal, one of my favorite birds in Costa Rica. You may recall a similar photo posted by Steve Maxson from several months ago; it's similar because we were standing right next to one another at the time. We worked really hard to get this frame, hiking up and down some very steep hills with all of our gear. But our efforts paid off with the best photo opportunity of a Quetzal that I've ever had. For this image I cloned out one leaf near the bird's head and did a bit of BG cleanup. Looking forward to the 2014 workshop, which is almost sold out already!

Canon 1Dx, 600mm, f/4, 1/200, ISO 1250, manual exposure, tripod

A spectacular bird well photographed, the perch and environment really adds to this. Your physical efforts paid off big time.

Impressive image, i have seen a few images of this bird and this one is special for me for the focus from the tip of the head to the tip of the tail , its fantastic
The colors really makes it special
Love it all the way Doug , good to see efforts paid off

Doug:

Amazing colors in the bird, nice look back pose, punk hair do. Always a challenge to crop with that long tail.

i might consider doing a bit more work to give more room around the face, just personal preference. Or as an alternative, burn in the brighter leaves near the face just a bit.

Cheers

Randy

This is excellent love the colors and ambiance looks like a bird from paradise. Excellent IQ

Simply spectacular Doug! Great IQ, nice HA, amazing colours!

Hi Doug, really striking colour to this fellow, and love that long tail. You got yourself a lovely pose and HA, and nicely placed in the open between the foliage. Great work.

This is really attractive!
The BG color is really cool, IQ on the bird is off the charts.
I might tone down the perch just a tad and tone down some highlights in the BG.

A beautifully crafted image, Doug. The colors, comp and details are wonderful - and what a terrific subject !

Gorgeous colors & details on the Quetzal! What a great find and prize for all your hard work making this image! Kudos!
I might try and get rid of the stray off-shooting branch at the top, and the brightness in the bottom of the image keeps distracting me. I would personally darken that up a bit, thus drawing you into the bird even more.
Great image!!!

I truly beautiful image, Doug.

Very nice Doug, very exotic looking, sharp and nicely composed in the foliage...might be inclined to tone down the bright perch a little more though

Nature always amazes me. Unbelievable colors. Your trek paid off in spades!

wow, beautiful photo! Reminds me of an oriental tapestry. Nicely done.

Jim

Doug, where can I find the link explaining the upload of larger file size pics on the forum?

Wonderful image with wonderful composition. Magical colors,great details,nice perch and inclusion of branches.
Love the tails feathers,short yellow beak and HA.

Regards,
Satish.

Now that's a beautiful photo. The habitat is to die for. Fine job.

Nice in habitat shot.

Hi Doug. Great shot! :S3: Looks familiar! And yes, we did have to work really hard to get it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sanjeev Aurangabadkar

Doug, where can I find the link explaining the upload of larger file size pics on the forum?

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1200 pixels wide, 900 pixels tall, 400 KB!

Many thanks everyone for the feedback!

Absolutely LOVELY image, Doug. Love the colors, the details, the angle and the habitat!

Awesome, Doug!

Wow, this has to be one of the most beautiful birds. You just made my day by posting this image. Great work and effort in geting this bird. Everything is perfect here in this image.

great bird & image. amazing colors, pose & sharpness.