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Thread: Rudd's Apalis - Southern Africa near endemic

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    Default Rudd's Apalis - Southern Africa near endemic

    Name:  Rudd's Apalis_Bonamanzi, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa_24 March 2014 BEST 8 CR 2 SM VB SH VB LB VB.jpg
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    Rudd’s Apalis - Apalis ruddi (near-endemic)
    http://www.theflacks.co.za/birds/rudds-apalis/

    This beautiful apalis can be separated from its bar-throated cousin by its dark eye, thin, white supercilium and green tail (without any white outer feathers). It is considered a “special” bird to see in southern Africa, where it is a near-endemic species and found in low lying thornveld and sand forest thickets.
    I was super happy to get a decent photograph of this pretty bird, within walking distance from our chalet, at Bonamanzi Game Reserve.

    Location: Bonamanzi Game Reserve, KwaZulu Natal
    Date taken: 23 March 2014
    Photo details:
    Canon EOS 7D
    400mm f2.8
    ISO 400
    Shutter speed 1/3200
    F stop 4
    Exposure bias 0
    Lens blur to BG, sharpening for web

    Look forward to your comments!

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    Hi Richard. Obviously difficult lighting and I am sure you made the best of a bad situation. The bird looks nice and sharp but your camera settings suggest you could have closed down the aperture some more to get a bit more DOF on the tail or is it twitching?. I also wonder if you can get a little more contrast out of the white throat - it looks a bit 'hot' - I would try shadow/highlight adjustment. Nevertheless, a good effort.
    Cheers, Ian

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Richard, I would add a luminosity adjustment layer just to soft & help the brighter parts, using a mask in Layers will help you control and target areas or you may wish to just do a global adjustment, but either way it helps. With that SS I feel you could have gone for more DoF i.e. f/9. If it was mine, I would soften the darker leaves, bottom centre in the BKG, my eyes get drawn to it, so blending it would help I feel.

    TFS
    Steve
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    Although I'm OK with the dof it is nonetheless a good idea to stop down a bit if you have enough light to do so and a distant enough BG to not render it too distracting. Lots of nice details here, and a good perch. Congrats on the "special" bird, especially so close to your home!

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