Costa Rica Here I Come!

I'm off to Costa Rica for a week with my wife to do a little photography and spend time with Greg Basco and his wife. This will be the first time I've ever been there when I wasn't involved in a workshop. Looking forward to a great week! This Blue-Crowned Motmot was photographed in Greg's front yard; he gets Motmots, and I get Pigeons. It's not fair! The image as presented is almost the entire frame that I captured.

Attachment 100573

Canon 1D Mark IV, 500mm, f/8, 1/250, ISO 640, manual exposure, fill flash, tripod

Simply amazing creature lovely colors excellent BG and perch . I can see you in the eyes of the bird

Great looking bird, love the tail. Very nice detail and color.

Doug:

Have a safe and fun trip.

Lovely bird, neat perch, sharp.

I might increase the exposure about .25 stop.


Cheers

Randy

Hey Doug,
Fantastic bird, lovely perch and colors.
What? tripod? ! :)
I'd add just a bit more room all around; especially above and below.
Have a great trip. Looking forward to more...

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Originally Posted by Sidharth Kodikal

Hey Doug,
Fantastic bird, lovely perch and colors.
What? tripod? ! :)

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Thanks Sidharth! I dust off the tripod when I go to Costa Rica! :w3

Doug, good DOF, and this species certainly as an array of colours. Comp works so well, and I like the perch too. Enjoy your mini holiday. :w3

Absolutely superb - love the colours and that tail is amazing. Have a great hol - looking forward to seeing your shots - hey you'll get sharp ones with that tripod!!!:bg3::Whoa!::wave:

Lovely capture of this specimen. Have a ball and hope you bring home lots of keepers.

What a ridiculously beautiful bird. Can't wait to see your shots when you get back. have a great time and be safe!

Very cool! Great colours, and I like the low-light subdued forest feel. Excellent flash work and BG / perch. Just a bit tight in the frame, and even if it is level in-camera I wonder what this would look like wit a bit of CCW rotation.

Have fun, you deserve a break in Costa Rica!! Looking forward to some images...

Excellent image of one of my favourite Costa Rican birds! Have a great time and look forward to seeing the images when you return. I like the pose, perch, IQ and BG. I would like to see a little more room top and bottom.

Pretty much perfect. Killer perch and BKGR. (Was this a set-up?). Great bird and EXP. Could go a hair lighter..... A bit more room on top would be fine otherwise I love the framing. Lastly I would evict the tiny brown leaf hanging off the vegetation below the primaries. Have a great trip.

indeed beautiful image Doug.

Awesome. Good background and perch. Great sharpness and flashwork.

I'm scared to see what you caome back with :-)

Awesomne image. Have a great trip Doug.

Doug, have a good trip. Incredible bird and shot. loved the forest feel...great colors and details.

If I had such birds in the backyard, I'd have never left the home :-)

Sweet shot, Doug! Have a great trip and say hi to Greg and Kristin for me!

:S3:

Hi Doug

Superb Motmot

My bags are packed for 3 months in CR leaving UK on 29 Sept -hurrah!

Arenal - Monteverde - Puerto Viejo then perhaps Cano Negra

have fun

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Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

Pretty much perfect. Killer perch and BKGR. (Was this a set-up?). Great bird and EXP. Could go a hair lighter..... A bit more room on top would be fine otherwise I love the framing. Lastly I would evict the tiny brown leaf hanging off the vegetation below the primaries. Have a great trip.

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Thanks Artie. Here's a repost that incorporates your suggestions. A definite improvement IMO. This version is the full frame.

Attachment 100604

Way to go Doug. Living proof that most great images can be improved. The lighter made a huge difference in impact.

You were so busy working on the image that you missed my question: set-up?

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Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

Way to go Doug. Living proof that most great images can be improved. The lighter made a huge difference in impact.
You were so busy working on the image that you missed my question: set-up?

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Yes this was a set-up.

Thanks Doug. Please remember to let the boys and girls know so that they just don't think that you are lucky. What type of fruit?

simply stunning image grt colors perch HA sharpness BG..10/10

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Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

Thanks Doug. Please remember to let the boys and girls know so that they just don't think that you are lucky. What type of fruit?

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Bananas

Awesome I like the extension of the tail. Hope you had a good flight

Looking forward to shooting with you next week.

Thanks. That would have been my guess. Still, a great choice of a perch and a great choice of background.

Perfect image for such a beautiful bird i should say Doug
Loved the colours too

Doug, have a great trip in Costa Rica. The re-post has more impact for sure. I echo Artie: It's important to disclose that one set up an image.

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Originally Posted by Craig Brelsford

Doug, have a great trip in Costa Rica. The re-post has more impact for sure. I echo Artie: It's important to disclose that one set up an image.

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My apologies Craig. I don't use a lot of set-ups, so it didn't cross my mind to mention it.

Love your repost , Doug !! Awesome colours and lovely bird !!

This has to be one of the most beautiful birds I've ever seen...makes me want to plan a trip to Costa Rica. Your repost is fantastic. Wonderful work!

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Originally Posted by Doug Brown

My apologies Craig. I don't use a lot of set-ups, so it didn't cross my mind to mention it.

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When I see a great image like yours above, my first question is, "How can I get results like that?" My second question is, "How did HE get that great result?"

Experienced photographers often know before asking :S3:. That's why I asked. I have long--and I am talking well more than a decade--been a proponent of truth in posting. When I first started asking too many questions many folks thought I should mind my own business. My point was that whatever you do when you to create a posted image is everybody's business. I am sure here that as Doug said that this was just an oversight.