Giant Kingfisher

[gail bisson]

Canon 1DMKIV
F 500mm
ISO 800
AV 4.0 ( to blur the BG as much as possible)
SS 1/800
Taken from a boat ,on a tripod. Okavengo delta, Botswana. These guys are about 12 to 14 inches tall.
I did a HUGE amount of work on the BG because I felt the pose was worth it. I used bits of the BG from the part of the image that I cropped out to avoid repeating patterns and then did NR and used Tony Whitehead's trick in Color Efex with DE by going as negative with the sliders as possible.
I will post the original below in the next pane.
Comments and critiques always learned from and appreciated with thanks,
Gail
I think that we should all start posting the original image if we do any significant cloning or manipulation to a shot. Something for the mods to discuss!

[gail bisson]

Here is the original

[Joe Senzatimore]

Fine job with post processing. Well worth the effort. A magnificent subject.

[Satish Ranadive]

Gail:
Very hard work finally resulted in beautiful background.Excellent image.
Love the pose with fish in beak,great hair do and nice wing position,beautiful colors,great details and tack sharp kingfisher.

Regards,
Satish.

[Karl Egressy]

Impressive bird, impressive shot, Gail. Excellent cleaning up of the background. Looks nice.

[Craig Kerr]

PP Time well spent Gail that is one fabulous pose.
Love the disturbed feather details on the crest and fish adds to the drama, nice one !!

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Gail, wonderful pose he gave you! I wouldn't have known you did so much (great) work to the bg if you hadn't mentioned it.

I absolutely agree about posting the original (if the original poster is OK with it). It always lets me see how much work goes into an image.

Miguel

[Sandy Clyburn]

Nice Job Gail,really great work on cleaning up a very busy BG!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, I enjoy all the various kingfishers we have in here in Southern Africa, but I do have a weak spot for the giants. I like how the line of the beak follows the line of the perch, and well timed to capture the wingspread. Exposure, colours and sharpness all spot on. A fish in any kingfishers beak is a bonus. If this were mine, I would neaten up the catchlight in the eye.

Thanks for disclosing the work on the BG, and I would like to know how long it took you. To be honest, most times when I see a BG like this in my viewfinder, I dont even take the shot. Having said that, I know you travelled far for this trip, and spent lots of your hard earned money, so I would have probably taken the shot too. Great pp work to achieve the end result on this.

[gail bisson]

Thanks for disclosing the work on the BG, and I would like to know how long it took you. To be honest, most times when I see a BG like this in my viewfinder, I dont even take the shot. Having said that, I know you traveled far for this trip, and spent lots of your hard earned money, so I would have probably taken the shot too. Great pp work to achieve the end result on this.

You are absolutely correct Stuart! If this was a bird at home I wouldn't even take the shot!
We are currently in the middle of a gigantic snowstorm here in Northeast North America and everything is closed and the roads very treacherous ( they closed all roads in Mass!!). I have nothing to do as I am stuck at home on a Saturday so I decided to spend my time on this shot. I spent about 25 minutes on it. The hardest part was meticulously selecting the bird with his wispy feathers on the head. The rest was clone and stamp, clone and stamp until it looked natural,
Gail

[Jonathan Ashton]

Gail well worthwhile the trouble, your end result is very pleasing. I love the pose and of course the fish. If I would change anything it would be the position I find the bird a little central, I may consider reducing the contrast just a tad.
Well done, I had my chance in The Gambia and I blew it messing about with focus mode... I missed a full frame shot...with a clear background.

[Stu Bowie]

Thanks for your feedback Gail. We are getting all the news of the severe storms out your way, so wrap up warm and be safe.

[jack williamson]

Very well done Gail! The bird is super sharp with great dof for f4, it just pops off the bg. The work done on the bg is splendid. Stay warm.

[Travis Reid]

Fantastic work..

[Rhys Marsh]

What a striking image! Interesting and instructive to see the incredible effort put into fixing up the BG.

[Richard Unsworth]

Good for you Gail, skillful indeed and resulted in a lovely image

[Raymond Lee]

The processed image is excellent! I think you did a great job in blurring out the background.

[dankearl]

Thanks for posting the original.
You did an amazing job, especially around the head feathers.
Beautiful bird and a great perch!

[Amol Khedgikar]

WOw Gail, You really cleaned it up.

It definitely was worth it.

[Diane Miller]

Absolutely amazing! Great shot!

[Frank Schauf]

Excellent image quality, great details and sharpness, Gail.

[HadiAnsari]

Hi Gail. Excellent cleaning up of the background. Looks nice

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Good PS work and the birs pose is nice too especially the wings

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the details, sharpness and composition. Excellent PP work on the BG. Nice image Gail.

[David Salem]

chiming in a little late but wanted to stop by and say very well done on the post production work. The techs look great and I like the image.The fish in the mouth adds to it also. nice work

[Robert Holguin]

Terrific shot.
Love the pose especially with it's meal in it's beak.
Great perch, nice details, and great comp.
Your PP skills are just superb.
Well done.

[Tony Whitehead]

Awesome job, Gail. The original really shows what a good job you have done. Excellent image to illustrate the female plumage with the chestnut colour extending up under the wings. This would be a great image for a photographic birding guide to illustrate the sexual dimorphism. Fish is a real bonus. Glad you have found the negative tonal contrast worth a try.