Laughing Kookaburra with food for chicks

[Ian Wilson]

This is one of the parent birds raising chicks in a nest hole in an old eucalyptus tree in my garden. A couple of weeks ago I showed an adult bird in the nest hole incubating eggs. There are now two hungry chicks on a diet of insects, worms and small reptiles like this Copper Skink. I have some chick shots and will post one in the near future. The background is oof bark of the nest hole tree in late afternoon sunshine.

Canon 5DIII + 600 mm f/4L II + 1.4x III extender, 600EX-RT flash with Better Beamer, rice bag camera support from a high trestle.
Manual, spot metering, spot AF, f/11, 1/200 sec, ISO 200, fill flash.
Processed with DPP4 and PS Elements.

Thanks for looking, critical feedback welcome. Regards,

Ian

[Randy Stout]

Ian:

Excellent use of flash, gives the bird excellent separation from the bg. Subtle too! I might consider knocking down the sheen on the skink, as that does look more flashed than the bird.

I like the in your face comp here, works well.

Harmonious colors.

Did you need to do any work on the pupil and flash catchlights?

Cheers

Randy

[Marina Scarr]

Amazing up close capture with terrific details and colors. The catch is a huge plus. Good flash work. I think the bird would show up even better if the BG were a little darker.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the details, catch, BG, flash work and composition. Another excellent image in your series Ian.

[William Dickson]

Fantastic details again Ian. I like how the colours all blend Well done

[Ian Wilson]

Ian:




Did you need to do any work on the pupil and flash catchlights?

Cheers

Randy

Thanks for your suggestions Randy. Regarding the pupil, I used the clone tool to remove the flash highlight and then made an intricate selection of the dark part of the pupil (it was a deep blue form of steel-eye). I then darkened the selection using the burn tool. The original reflection of the horizon through the trees behind me and the low sun are as recorded in the camera.

Regards, Ian

[Ian Wilson]

Amazing up close capture with terrific details and colors. The catch is a huge plus. Good flash work. I think the bird would show up even better if the BG were a little darker.

Thanks Marina - excellent suggestion re 'a little darker' background. I am planning to post this image to the BirdLife Australia gallery and will make some of the adjustments suggested on this forum.

[mohammad reza shahab]

excellent details,BG and composition.Good flash work.

[Ian Wilson]

Thanks everyone for your kind feedback and helpful suggestions. Warm regards, Ian.