Pheasant Close Up

[John Robinson]

Pheasant in front of the kitchen window. You either like big head shots or you hate them !! I don't think one every now and then hurts. Pheasants make a good subject for head detail I suppose.
Nikon D 200
Sigma 50-500mm
Tripod /Hide.
800 ISO
125th @f9
70% crop from full frame
PP in Paint Shop Pro
Levels
Neat Image
CZM for high pass sharpening.
Thanks for looking and comments on my last pic.
Cheers
John R

[Kevin Giannini]

Hello John,
I happen to like portraits now and then, and this makes for a beautiful image. Very detailed and you've processed the reds nicely. I've read varying views of the Sigma 50-500mm, but your posts with this lens are always very sharp. It almost seems a little too tight at the top, at least to me. Question: When people/you say 70% crop, does that mean you've cropped away 70% or that 70% remains? Sorry for the elementary question but sometimes posters word it slightly different and I never am sure what it means.
Regards,
Kevin

[John Robinson]

Kevin
Thanks. Yes as Ithink I mentioned somewhere before- the Sigma is great when you get it right- terrible when you don't.!! It really does need a good tripod and good conditions. I think its certainly better than the 150-500mm version.
I too get confused over the cropping descriptions so I took the easy way . 70% means there's 30% removed- if that makes sense. Like threequarters of the frame. Its only roughanyway.
Cheers
JohnR

[Jonathan Ashton]

Nice shot Johnny, I too like pheasant close ups I have posted a few. I like the image good detail and fine focus, but the colours are for me OTT- in particular the reds.

[Jim Crosswell]

I have never seen a close up of a pheasant before. I like the details, colours, HA, BG and composition. Very well done John!

[David Stephens]

Wonderful portrait, full of feather details and accurate color. I think that portraits are appropriate every so often, like this, when you get perfect light and a willing subject.

In the US, this would be an incredible shot of a bird in the wild. Our wild pheasant are so skittish that you'd have to shoot and mount one to get this kind of shot. When the wife and I visited The Cotswolds, Cumbria and Yorkshire in 2012, I noticed the pheasant roaming around, acting like chickens. When I told my host that the pheasant were acting very strange, letting me approach and acting like I might give them a handout, he told me that they do indeed feed them en masse and then bring the shooters out from London and use the dogs to make them fly. They're a big money maker for the estates.

I'm not meaning to diminish your wonderful shot, just sharing my reaction to how differently the same species will act in different circumstances.

[John Robinson]

Thanks all

Jon- yes it was made a bit "pretty"for a card company to be honest !
David- From a hide they are usually quite stupid - especially the males, but I agree out in the open they can be really skittish. This one as I recall was about 15 foot in front of the hide.
Cheers
JohnR

[Martin Dunn]

a lovely close up John. Pheasants really are very photogenic if you can get them to stand still long enough.
For me the colours are a bit over-saturated - but you've explained why that is.

[BenBotha]

What a colourful bird. I agree with the above.
Ben

[John Robinson]

Thanks
By the way the saturation wasn't boosted at all. Must be the levels adjustment. Mind you get a bit of sun on them and they can look pretty good !
JohnR

[Ashleigh Scully]

Beautiful shot Mr. Robinson!

Amazing sharpness and colors. Also the little star of light on the beak catches my eye - really cool!

[christopher galeski]

nice portrait,love the colors,the light make it feel like summer,can not be in the uk.

[gail bisson]

Hi John,
I really like this.
Full of detail and rich colors.
The head angle is perfect.
Techs are great as well,
Gail

[John Robinson]

Interesting about the colours. The iridescence of some of the neck colours do look OTT but with the sun on them they do look like that. Just had a male in the garden in the first bit of sun we,ve had for ages and he looked really smart.
Thanks again- always nice to get appreciative comments on pics using a budget camera

Cheers
John

[Satish Ranadive]

What a wonderful colors you have captured here with gear IQ.
Excellent portrait.

Regards,
Satish.

[David Salem]

I love portraits and what a great subject for one. Great colors, textures and details. Well done

[Marina Scarr]

This image is crazy good. Never seen anything like this of a pheasant. Colors and details are impressive.

[Frank Schauf]

Beautiful and colorful image.

[John Robinson]

Thanks all for your comments.
very helpful and ppreciated.
Cheers
JohnR