Rockhopper...

[Geoff Newhouse]

This was shot in the Falklands on monopod in available light...Canon 1DX, 200-400 f/4 IS EXT at 560mm f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO 640

[Randy Stout]

Geoff:

The great eye and wild hairdo are well displayed here. The blue background helps him pop.

Some of the whites on the breast look a bit gray to me, perhaps that is how they are. I find on my loons, that it is very easy to gray out the breast when trying to tone down the exposure there.

I might also consider toning down or removing some of the brightest grasses along the right frame edge.

Cheers

Randy

[Bill Dix]

Great look at the bird, with good eye and nice blue BG. Grasses are a bit distracting, but they do match the hairdo.

[Geoff Newhouse]

Geoff:

The great eye and wild hairdo are well displayed here. The blue background helps him pop.

Some of the whites on the breast look a bit gray to me, perhaps that is how they are. I find on my loons, that it is very easy to gray out the breast when trying to tone down the exposure there.

I might also consider toning down or removing some of the brightest grasses along the right frame edge.

Cheers

Randy

Thanks Randy. Yes the breast was a bit blown and highlight recovery did grey things a bit. As you can tell, light was harsh. I will look into removing some of the grasses on the right.

[keith mitchell]

I like it a lot maybe being a bit picky but the blue sky does look a bit strong to me ,think I might try and tone it down a bit but that's a personal choice and different monitors ect,I really am happy with the bits of grass and the plumage,crest really tops the job off very well.

Keith.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Best to shoot in manual mode (you didn't indicate) and aim to expose for the brightest parts
of an image. The darks will tend to look after themselves.
Not ideal light for so much white, but you could have made a slightly better exposure.

Wonderful looking image that would also have benefited from less clutter in the FG, but I
understand that may not have been possible given the circumstances. You may wish to consider
a little more crop from above.

Well done and thanks for sharing.

[Geoff Newhouse]

I like it a lot maybe being a bit picky but the blue sky does look a bit strong to me ,think I might try and tone it down a bit but that's a personal choice and different monitors ect,I really am happy with the bits of grass and the plumage,crest really tops the job off very well.

Keith.

Thanks for the comments Keith. The blue is actually the Southern Ocean and not sky so that is why it is so blue. I didn't add any saturation or vibrance in post just my Color Checker Passport calibration for the 1DX.

[Geoff Newhouse]

Best to shoot in manual mode (you didn't indicate) and aim to expose for the brightest parts
of an image. The darks will tend to look after themselves.
Not ideal light for so much white, but you could have made a slightly better exposure.

Wonderful looking image that would also have benefited from less clutter in the FG, but I
understand that may not have been possible given the circumstances. You may wish to consider
a little more crop from above.

Well done and thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the comments Akos. My 1DX is set to only allow M mode!! I have 3 C1-3 settings but they are all based in M mode. The whites were ruined in this one a bit. In post I pulled highlights by 46 in LR and the brightest white is at 249 so still too hot. I will try and bring down the overall exposure and see if I can tame the whites a bit more.

Here is a repost with exposure dropped, shadows lifted and whites tamed to 227. I also cropped a little, the OP was full frame.

[Arthur Morris]

Good job by all above on this image. It seems that there are still some problematic areas of WHITE on the upper breast. Best advice: make one image in a given light and then check both histograms and check for blinkies.... Repost is better. a