Red Bishop trying to impress.

[Thinus Schoeman]

During April this year I visited the Mankwe hide at Pilanesberg, South Africa. It was a cold and quiet morning at Mankwe, but I did mange to capture this male Red Bishop doing his best to impress the ladies.

The image is almost full frame, with a slight crop at the top and right hand side. The background is a distant mountain with some sky.
Camera Model Canon EOS 70D
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv(Shutter Speed) 1/2000
Av(Aperture Value) 7.1
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation -1/3
ISO Speed 640
Lens EF400mm f/5.6L USM
AF Mode AI Servo AF

All comments and critique welcome, and thanks for looking!

[Mike Milicia]

Nice pose and interesting BG!

Given the amount of room at the bottom, I would take a sliver off the top (about halfway down your name). Would also make a nice vertical.

[Satish Ranadive]

Thinus,
Superb image of handsome bird.Beautiful colors, nicely exposed red and orange.Agree with Mike about crop.
I have opened blacks by selectively increasing exposure and sharpened the bird a bit.Composition is personal test,I found vertical more interesting.
I hope you will like it.


Regards,
Satish.

[Thinus Schoeman]

Hi Satish, funny enough I did have a vertical version and for some reason I decided to post the horizontal version. I do like the vertical much more, the bird is bigger in frame and not more detail can be seen. You certainly did a fine job on lifting the exposure on the blacks to extract more detail. The sharpening you applied certainly lifts the image.
I really appreciate your feedback.
Thanks
Thinus

[Marina Scarr]

Both versions work well, but the vertical shows off your bird better. You have an interesting BG so the horizontal works as well. Fun pose here with the feathers all puffy!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Thinus, I remember that morning well. Great pose from the Red bishop, and love the fluffy plumage. Difficult characters to expose especially those reds, and Im voting for the vertical.

[Thinus Schoeman]

Thanks Marina and Stu for looking and for the feedback. Stu, we will have to do it again some time soon!
Regards
Thinus