Blue-cheeked Bee-Eater portrait

[Ian Wilson]

Captured in Tarangire NP, Tanzania, 5 April 2015.

Canon 5DIII + 600 mm f/4 II + 1.4x III extender, hand-held from a vehicle.
Manual, spot metering, spot AF, AI Servo, f/9, 1/800 sec, ISO 1600.
Processed with DPP4 and PS Elements.

Thanks for looking, critical feedback welcome and appreciated.
Kind regards, Ian.

[Karen Pleasant]

BAM! Excellent HA and eye. Incredible feather details (just look in the dark area under the eye!) and colors! Ideal DOF for me and the creamy background complements the subject. I think the current composition/crop works very well. I could also envision a little more on top and to the right.

All in all - outstanding!

[Daniel Cadieux]

Yes, the detail is fantastic! Just on the edge of being oversharpened in some spots but still looking good. Excellent colours, and perfect head angle. I too could see more room at right. Great stuff!

[Loi Nguyen]

Just a lovely portrait. Beautiful colors. I'm with Daniel on the over-sharpening. I could also see a 16X9 crop. Loi

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Excellent portrait Ian. I like the colours, the pleasing BG and comp.

[christopher galeski]

its all been said Ian,beautiful image,well done.

[keith mitchell]

You have some superb detail and colours Ian, pleasure to view.

Keith.

[gail bisson]

WOW! This is nice.
How close were you?!!
Agree with more room on right and top.

Gail

[Ian Wilson]

WOW! This is nice.
How close were you?!!
Agree with more room on right and top.

Gail

Hi Gail, Thanks for your kind comments. The bird was hunting for airborne insects and regularly returned to a perch next to the track so we moved the vehicle up for a close-up. The bird was too big for my camera frame so I decided on the head shot - range about 5 m. It is not over-sharpened; it's what you get with an effective focal length of 840 mm and a quality 22 MP sensor at this close range. Regards, Ian.

[William Dickson]

Stunning portrait Ian. Beautiful colours and sharpness on the bird, and good control of the whites. That BG was made for this frame, it fits lovely. Nice one

Will

[Ian Wilson]

Thanks everyone, great feedback, much appreciated. I have extended the canvas top and right as many of you suggested and it has improved the composition. Next time I show this image it will look better as a result of your feedback. Thanks and warm regards, Ian.