Resplendent Quetzal

[supreet.sahoo]

The holy grail of bird photographers is here, in costa rica! Resplendence, elegance and much sheen, all combined into one flying pixie, the resplendent quetzal. The green wonder leaves behind a trail of glitter and aww and one cannot help but feel like experiencing a tale straight out of the fabled childhood chronicles.

About the image – I had been planning to come back to costa rica after my first trip earlier this year to get pictures of the RQ. Little did I know that my plans (even after being here) would be disrupted by the hurricane otto and our bookings at the resorts were cancelled as per government orders. Determined to see the bird, we travelled to the Talamanca Range Cloud Forest to try our luck with 1 session of quetzal and as always luck continued to shine on us. Guided by local farmers we got lucky with 20 seconds of a male in an open perch. So here it is, the resplendent quetzal.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III EF600mm f/4L IS II USM lens 600mm f/7.1 1/500s 800 ISO -0.7 EV

[David Salem]

Yes you got lucky, but your determination to get the shot has left you with one of the best images of this species that I ever seen!! Not easy to get an image of one of these guys, let alone with a nice pose, great perch and an uncluttered BG.
Well done

[Tim Foltz]

Awesome shot, nice HA, BG and perch would like to see a bit more added on to the bottom but that's an easy fix.

-Tim

[Colin Driscoll]

Just wow!

[Joseph Przybyla]

All's been said, beautiful image. I agree with adding more room at the bottom. Thank you for sharing, Supreet.

[Joe Subolefsky]

Fantastic way to stay after it payed off handsomely.Looks to be all natural light as well? Another vote for a little more room on the bottom.

[John Whaley]

Beautiful

[keith mitchell]

Little nit covered but that apart this is a truly magnificent shot,like everything about it.

[Jake Levin]

Amazing! As others have said, a little expand canvas-content aware fill on the bottom would make it perfect. Perch, pose, and everything else are spot on. Muy bien.

[stuart wanuck]

fantastic image rocks!!!!!!!

[Geoff Newhouse]

I already said all this over on FM but I will say it again...probably the best RQ image I've ever seen...beautiful head turn, perch is interesting, tail is all there and the best thing is no distracting branches in foreground or background.

TFS
Geoff

[supreet.sahoo]

I already said all this over on FM but I will say it again...probably the best RQ image I've ever seen...beautiful head turn, perch is interesting, tail is all there and the best thing is no distracting branches in foreground or background.

TFS
Geoff

I am honored Geoff, im so glad you all liked it. This keeps me going.

[William Dickson]

Well done mate. I love the different greens throughout. You couldn't have asked for a better perch for this beautiful bird to land on.

Will

[Bill Dix]

Superb! I've never seen such an uncluttered image of this iconic beauty. Combine that wonderful BG with the emerald dorsal view, great head turn, attractive perch and good light makes for one of the best RQ shots I've seen. You certainly took good advantage of your good fortune.

[Glenn Conlan]

A little more canvas an you have yourself an award winning image, well done best capture of this species that I have seen

[gail bisson]

Just WOW! I echo all of the above comments,
Gail