Two Crested francolin (Peliperdix sephaena / Bospatrys) preening each other in the early morning light, Mabalingwe nature reserve, South Africa. This is typical savannah habitat for these birds and they are difficult to get out in the open. Canon 1DIV, EF 300 f 2.8 IS II + 1.4TC III, 1/125, f 7.1, ISO 200, beanbag rest from car window. Basic workup in CS6, comments welcome.
Gerhard,
I know how difficult to get them in open.
Excellent image in beautiful lights. Very nice habitat. Beautiful color pallet. I like the preening pose and golden grass.
Image looks bit bright on my monitor.I tried to reduce brightness and it looks great with bit dark BG and nice 3D effect in the frame.
Soft morning light is lovely, warm. The brightness reads OK on my monitor, but certainly worth a tinker per Satish's comment.
Strong sense of the habitat. Yes, a bit busy, but the clear view of the heads helps. Could try removing a few of the stalks across the bodies, but I don't find them distressing.
Heavy habitat, indeed, but I fnd it appealing in this case. I feel that toning down the brightness, especially in the foreground would be worth trying to see how you like it. The behavior is sweet and great job getting them birds well focused through the grasses.