I haven't posted in a while so I thought I would put this on up to see what feedback I get.
This is a setup in a local pond. The background is distant hemlock trees. I have since moved the perch so I have a brighter background to work with on future shots.
I did have to cut the exposure back 3/4 of a stop and also move the recovery slider to 100% in ACR. So I did not have ideal exposure!!
Hopefully a bit brighter background will make the next shot easier. Burned the perch and chest a bit and smart sharpened. Horizontal to vertical and then cropped off approx 20%.
ID Mark 3, 700mm (500 + 1.4) 1/2500 @ 5.6, ISO 800
He really pops from the BG, but just a little color there would be nice. Some loss of detail in the whites from the original exposure, nice job burning the perch.
Nice head angle.
For me, the perch is a little heavy for this fellow, and since this is a setup, I would use a thinner perch. I would also crop a bit of the free space off the top.
Having said this all, I don't have any top notch kingfisher images, so appreciate your efforts. Look forward to your next version!
I really like the BG. The black is very dramatic and gives a unique look.
I just love their little feet.
I am Ok with the perch and the diagonal line and texture. A bit smaller would be better but not an issue for me.
Whites lacking a bit of detail on left side of chest but these guys are so hard to expose if there is any sun at all.
Well done,
Gail
Neil - very nice capture!
* The lack of detail in the whites is apparent, and might be easy to extract in your RAW conversion. If not, it's not a deal breaker.
* I didn't think I would like the dark background, but the full size image makes me think twice.
* As Randy mentioned, the perch does seem a bit large in diameter.
* The head angle, and direction of light are perfect. The catchlight is very nice as well.
Whites are a tad bright, but I do like the rest of the detail and the diagonal perch, the largish perch to me shows the tiny size of this bird which is good for me as I would not of realised how small they are.
I actually find this capture to be quite unique. I like the darker BG and how the KF pops against it for something different. The perch works for me as he appears nestled in very comfortably. I just pulled the picture into NIK and reduced the whites on the chest very easily, so I think you could easily handle that in RAW. I also feel as though the face and feathers around the face need more sharpening.
Thanks for the comments.
I agree the perch is a bit heavy, but as Jim points out that is quite often how you see these guys.
I did go back yesterday morning and He did show up but not on the placed perch or close enough for a shot. This small swamp pond can have a lot going on very early in the morning. Twice now I have watched three otters working the pond but of course before any good light!!
If I don't get the shot I want this fall hopefully this on or another will be back in the spring....
Belted KF
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