Rockhopper Penguin sub-species filholi

[Ian Wilson]

This is the sub-species found at Macquarie Is and some other sub-Antarctic islands. It is the smallest of the crested penguin group, standing about 0.45 m tall. The birds usually breed on steep rocky shores and cliffs. We visited two colonies on Macquarie Is but our Zodiac was unable to make a close approach because of the dangerous confused swell reflected off the rocks. Consequently, this is a large crop (width 1976 pixels) and the back-light through high clouds was not ideal. The WB was set on the bird's chest. The shot was taken at the cliffs on the north side of Buckles Bay on 6 January 2014.
Canon 5DIII + 300 mm f/2.8L II + 2x III extender, hand-held.
Av priority with spot metering off the bird's chest, f/7.1, 1/2500 sec, ISO 800.
Processed in DPP: crop, adjust WB, shad/h'lights, saturation, USM, RAW-TIFF. PS Elements: pulled up the blacks on the bird's throat, cleaned up a few dirty spots on white front with healing brush, downsize TIFF-JPEG, output sharpen with USM.
Thanks for looking, critical feedback welcome.

[gail bisson]

Hi Ian,
The bird look great and the IQ has not suffered from the crop. Exposure looks good.
I would run some NR on the rocks in the BG or blur them a bit.
The diagonal line of the rock that the penguin is on adds to the image as does the thin line of green lichen.
Nice image.
gail
I went to the website of the company you traveled with and am dreaming of the day i can cross this trip off my bucket list!!

[Ian Wilson]

Hi Ian,
The bird look great and the IQ has not suffered from the crop. Exposure looks good.
I would run some NR on the rocks in the BG or blur them a bit.
The diagonal line of the rock that the penguin is on adds to the image as does the thin line of green lichen.
Nice image.
gail
I went to the website of the company you traveled with and am dreaming of the day i can cross this trip off my bucket list!!

Thanks Gail, I was in two minds about the BG. It is not noise but the usual oof low-pass filter response of the lens convolved with the highlights on the wet rocks. But you are right, whatever it is, the image would be improved if it was blurred a bit. Regards, Ian

[adrian dancy]

I love the head plumage on these birds. They are a fine subjects. Noise does not bother me as much others but in this case I'd select the background rocks for some NR. Otherwise a pleasing portrait and one I wished I could take credit for.

[Ian Wilson]

That was sagacious advice Adrian and Gail. In this repost I have blurred the background rocks using a median filter (radius 2 pixels) just enough to get rid of the offending speckle. This also helped reduce the file size so that less compression was needed for the final output and I think the bird is standing out better - a win win as they say. Thanks for your help. Regards, Ian

[Karl Egressy]

Sharp looking bird, excellent image Ian. The repost is an improvement for sure.

[adrian dancy]

Much better and not over cooked. I wished I looked as good as your bird!

[christopher galeski]

nice shot Ian,repost is the one,good details,can see why they call it a Rockhopper.

[Binu John]

Very nice shot, Ian! Excellent exposure and details! The RP is perfect!

[gail bisson]

Repost looks excellent!

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image of beautiful Penguin with beautiful hair do and ruby eye.
Nicely exposed whites, superb details, lovely pose and composition. Re post looks great.

Regards,
Satish.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Ian, love the angled pose, and the penquin stands out nicely against the darker BG. Well exposed on the whites, and love the hairdo. Your repost has turned out well.

[Ian Wilson]

Thanks everyone for your help and encouragement - I really appreciate your feedback. Regards, Ian