Razorbill Portrait

[Mike Milicia]

EOS-1D Mk IV, 500mm f/4L, 1/400, f/5.6, ISO 800
About 85% of Full Frame

Photographed last week at the Látrabjarg Cliffs during the Shoot The Light Iceland workshop.

[Randy Stout]

Mike:

I think razorbills are one of the coolest looking birds, and they always remind me of the striping on old time hotrods for some reason.

A challenging bird from an exposure standpoint, difficult to get enough detail in the browns while holding the whites. On my monitor, this one looks good. Perhaps 1/4 to 1/3 more stop would still work OK, but perhaps it would change your intent.

Simple, effective comp.

Cheers

Randy

Mike - I think that if you had a darker frame around the image, that the subtle details in the browns would show better, when not over powered by the light bg. I will view it with a darker skin and see how that presents.

[gail bisson]

This is lovely Mike.
I like the exposure, and the lines of/in the bill.
I like the orangy inside of mouth as well.
You sure were able to get close!
gail

[Mike Milicia]

A challenging bird from an exposure standpoint, difficult to get enough detail in the browns while holding the whites. On my monitor, this one looks good. Perhaps 1/4 to 1/3 more stop would still work OK, but perhaps it would change your intent.

The flat overcast light helped here. I was actually able to overexpose by 2/3 stop (to reduce noise) without clipping the whites. Brought it back down in ACR to make it more true to life and then also darkened the blacks a bit with levels and curves to make them richer.

[Mike Milicia]

You sure were able to get close!l

Iceland, in general, is a bird photographer's paradise but Látrabjarg is off the charts even for Iceland.
Could easily get within a few feet (and sometimes closer) of both the puffins and the razorbills ... an amazing experience!

[Rachel Hollander]

Mike - very well done. I learned how hard it is to photograph razorbills and get the exposure right first hand on my trip to Machias Seal Island. Nice to see the open mouth and the spikes for the fish.

TFS,
Rachel

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Mike! I like the open bill, sharpness, exposure and composition.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

What a cool portrait, Mike and an equally cool bird.
Perfect pose, comp and sharpness.

[John Ippolito]

Mike, beautiful job on getting the exposure and details, including the red eye. Nice comp too! Excellent work.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Excellent. I love overcast light, and here is a perfect example why. Great techs, comp.

[Melissa Groo]

Well if this isn't perfect for the current month's theme, I don't know what is! This is a dream of an image, Mike. Love this close view, the comp, the soft light. Eager to see even more of your images from Iceland.

[jack williamson]

The blacks are excellent and this is a razor sharp razorbill. The eye looks real good and I love the light.

Jack

[Charles Glatzer]

Mike - very well done. I learned how hard it is to photograph razorbills and get the exposure right first hand on my trip to Machias Seal Island. Nice to see the open mouth and the spikes for the fish.

TFS,
Rachel

Rachel,

Curious as to why you found the exposure difficult? What method were you using to determine the exposure?

Chas

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Chas - I found at Machias with the razorbills that it was more difficult to expose correctly for the whites but still have the eye visible and distinct in the darker head.

Sorry Mike for the interruption,
Rachel