Oxpeckers on Buffalo

[Edward Arthur]

I thought these guys were kind of cute and fascinating -- always looking up. And the big brutes they feasted on seemed to welcome them.
Taken at Mala Mala Game Reserve, South Africa.

Canon 6D
Zeiss 80-200 @200mm HH and manual focus from stationary vehicle, early morning
1/2000 ISO 320 f/5.6 or f/8 (don't recall which)
Crop/highlights/shadows/blacks adjustment in LR
Topaz ReMask to separate FG from BG. Guassian blur and dropped curves on BG. Light application of smart sharpening and Focus Magic on FG.

[Diane Miller]

Very nice! Do you have more of the image on the left? It feels a little crowded there with the 2 OOF birds close to the edge.

I'd play with WB in LR -- it seems a little on the magenta side. I usually compare Auto and As Shot -- then tweak from there. The presets are usually awful.

[Edward Arthur]

Thanks, Diane. Problem is there are more birds on the left so I tried to balance the shot by cropping them out and fading the others toward the background. An attempt at a save, I suppose.

I have others and may come back to this one. Right now I'm taming lions over in Wildlife. :)

[Jim Keener]

Brilliant concept. The light and the color of the birds are a beautiful combination. I wonder if the focus is on the hair of the buffalo, rather than the bird's eye?

[Arthur Morris]

Can we see the full frame original please?