Fiscal Flycatcher

[Bill Nuttall]

I'm struggling to get the quality needed for this section, so I have gone back to re-process some of my "older" images

Here's one taken last year

D7100
Nikon 300mm f4 + TC14Ell
ISO 200
f5.6 - 1/1250th
Shade conditions, but sunny day - original under-exposed, brought back in LR/PS
S Africa 2014 - their summer

hand held - I got quite near
hardly any cropping - but I can add canvas at the top which looks OK

just don't seem to be able to make my images "pop"

bg - not sure if it is good or bad - I thought that it was quite different initially with the branches radiating from behind the bird

It is a juvenile ….. the adults look B & W with the dark brown elements …….. these are typical juvenile colours

Thanks for all your comments on my other images - learning a lot

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Mate, you're doing pretty well I reckon.
While the BG is not ideal, sneaking up on birds, without using a set-up perch and hide, is difficult enough to start with. So well done there.
I used the quick selection tool to select the bird, seed perch and created a new layer with them. Then darkened the background layer.
I did that quickly and for you to get precise selection of edges you need to work with the PSD file in Photoshop.
Darkening the BG would probably help the image and that's what I've done to show you. Also, I darkened the pupil somewhat with the burn tool.
You may want to check youtube for some tutorials on how to use the quick selection tool.
The HA is not quite there, but it is not overall that poor.

Well done and keep them coming.

[Daniel Cadieux]

The subject looks pretty good, and the perch it is sitting on is pretty neat. Good details, well exposed. A bit tight in the frame IMO, and the BG is rather busy - not much you could do in that situation. Sounds like good fieldcraft on your part to get close!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Bill, great advice from the guys above, and I too feel you are selling yourself short. You said you have gone back to 'reprocessing older images'. You just need to ensure you capture your subjects in good light, with the best BG's available. Yes, I know thats not always possible for photography, so we are all in the same boat.

[Karl Egressy]

Nice light and nice details on the bird. I like the perch too. It is a little tight in the frame.