This a first for me, captured this image(few hundred) this Sunday on Lake St Lucia,KZN, South Africa.
I have set on a style where I shoot on manual- the SS and f-stop I want with auto ISO and centre-weighted metering. I am comfortable with the style,
without taking the eye away from view finder to change ISO in Aperture/Manual (maybe even WB or Quality on D3S) while making images.
Under the guidance of a good, experienced friend present on the boat, I tried to get out of my box and shoot this image at -2EV.
I have images from +0,3 right down to -2, wanted to hear your opinion on this image.
The BG was quite distracting with bright branches, tried the -2. The colours seemed to be more vivid and saturated.
Image went through LR5 and CS6 with normal adjustment layers.
Techs:
Nikon D3S with 600 F4
Manual with auto ISO
1/1000 @ f 7,1( he was going no-where, reduced SS from 2500 to 1000)
Iso 560
-2EV
Centre-weighted metering.
About 40% crop.
I am liking your darker background here as well as the open beak. You have a lot of feather details and the colors of your bird really pop. The back/side lighting makes for a unique image.
Overall, I like the effect, but the light angle has left the mouth dark, which makes the mandibles look odd to my eye. Might try to lighten the mouth just a sliver, no so much as to look unrealistic, but enough to complete impression of a mouth there.
I like the dramatic side lighting too, but I agree the darks are a little too dark on the mandibles and also on the perch - perhaps worth a try to get at least a bit of detail in those spots. I'd also tone down a bit the brightest part of the BG "streak" near the head. Love the open bill and overall dark backdrop. The blues and reds on the subject look great.
Mangrove Kingfisher
) this Sunday on Lake St Lucia,KZN, South Africa.
) while making images.
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