Common Kingfisher in the morning sun

[hirandesilva]

D800 500mm F4 1/500 @ F 5.6 ISO800.

Early morning with the sun behind the bird. Taken from a vehicle with camera on a beanbag.

The image was cropped, adjusted levels and curves in CS6, NR on the BG. The bird was isolated
and a light NR was run and then sharpened.

Would like to know if the bird looks bright enough but would also like to keep the sunlight falling on the
bird visible.

Thanks, Hiran

[David Kenny]

Hiran, on my monitor (which is not calibrated) the bird looks good. I like the mood this photo gets from the lighting of the sun.

[Diane Miller]

Very nice! Great color and the bird is sharp and detailed, with a nice environmental story. There is enough detail in the bird to see its features well, and still to preserve the backlit situation. I always experiment with how light to make the subject in a situation like this, and usually settle on something that is probably a little lighter than this one, but it's an artistic choice and there is no right answer. You could try lightening just the face a little, with a masked adjustment. But for me, it's very nice as it is.

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Absolutely beautiful! The area around the eye is perhaps just a little too dark and it might be worthwhile experimenting with a little higher shadows setting to see what it looks like.

[Tim Harding]

Stunning image! I too think you can afford to lighten the bird a bit without losing the effect of the sun on it's back. TFS.

[Iain Barker]

Nice back lighting on the bird and branch and I like the composition. I wish the head had some light on it and brightening it may fix this.

TFS
Iain

[hirandesilva]

Hi All, Thank you for your comments. I do understand opening the eye area a little might make the bird more visible. In my mind
the bird and the back-lit effect is the reason this picture is about and happy that it is okay by the comments made by you all.

Hiran