Giant Kingfisher

[Edward Arthur]

I was bobbing around on a boat on the Zambezi River. A number of kingfishers, skimmers and a croc or two were having a feast. I missed most of them until this guy landed in a tree along the bank. Such a big head!



Canon 6D
Zeiss 80-200mm @200mm
f/5.6 1/640 ISO 1000
HH and MF
LR for WB and basic adjustments, Topaz Denoise and Remask on subject, PS CC smart sharpening

[Jon Pugmire]

Nice look back pose and perch, wonderful looking bird. Almost is smiling at you. Background is a bit distracting, but what do you do when bobbing around on a boat! Well done.

[Diane Miller]

Very nice!! Good sharpness, tonalities and colors. I think if the BG were cleaned up a little it would make the bird stand out even more -- the branch in the UR corner and the small branch just ahead of the beak.

If you have any more canvas below, the way the bend in the perch just touches the frame edge draws attention.

[Dvir Barkay]

awesome bird, wish it was facing the viewer and was a bit sharper less noisy.

[Edward Arthur]

A second pass. Here I adjusted the crop and tried to send the BG a little farther back by toning down the greens/yellows and adjusting exposure/curves just a bit on that mask. The bird and perch got a little shake reduction sharpening.

And whoever invented the spot healing brush should be given a special award.

[Diane Miller]

Looks much better, but it's on the blue side now. You had great results cleaning up the BG -- I'd continue it to the rest of that branch on the left. I like the extra room on the bottom. If you want to get nit-picky, I'd say there is too much NR on the perch. PS is made for masking out adjustments to only certain areas.

How do Kingfishers support their beaks?

[Charleen Ratcliff]

I love the Zambezi and I love Kingfishers! Nice, clear and sharp with good bokeh...would be careful on the blue adjustments as the giant kingfisher is black and white with the robust orange/red on the chest...love the shot

[Edward Arthur]

Thanks. I'm really not happy with the RP, even I can see the color is off. I really wanted to get that coloring on the chest but the bird just wasn't cooperating and we were losing the light fast. Arrgh! :(

Diane, no NR on the perch or bird. It's just the DOF at work here I think.