Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Pied Kingfisher

  1. #1
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Canberra, Australia
    Posts
    1,667
    Threads
    150
    Thank You Posts

    Default Pied Kingfisher

    Name:  IMG_0596-BPN.jpg
Views: 89
Size:  319.8 KB
    Here's another one from my trip to Africa in May. This one from the Okavango Delta in Botswana. I noticed this bird regularly used a reed not far from the jetty at the lodge so I took up position and waited for it to show up. Crop is maybe half the frame area with a bit off all sides.

    Thank you for looking and any comments you may share.

    Technical: Canon 80D with EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM at 400mm handheld. Manual exposure 1/1600 sec, f7.1, ISO 800. Processed in Canon DPP 4 (digital lens optimiser @ 50, sharpness = 3, crop, lighting adjustments, NR) then exported 16 bit TIFF to Photoshop Elements with Neat Image NR plugin. Modest NR applied to bird and stronger to background. Some selective tone adjustments on the bird mainly to bring up the shadows and control the whites. Bird only sharpened in PSE (Sharpness tool, remove Gaussian Blur: 0.4 pixels at 50%) after final size reduction.

  2. #2
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
    Location
    Miami, FL
    Posts
    536
    Threads
    127
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Nice details pose and HA Glenn. If mine I’d probably remove the string under the perch. TFS.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

  3. #3
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Canberra, Australia
    Posts
    1,667
    Threads
    150
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Thanks Juan, the 'string' is actually part of the reed.

  4. #4
    BPN Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Lakeland, FL
    Posts
    7,510
    Threads
    2,037
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Beautiful bird, nicely shown. Perch and background compliment. I like the background with enough detail to show the grasses yet out of focus enough not to distract. Thank you for sharing, Glenn.
    Joe Przybyla

    "Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams

    www.amazinglight.smugmug.com

  5. Thanks Glenn Pure thanked for this post
  6. #5
    BPN Member William Dickson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Fife, Scotland
    Posts
    7,773
    Threads
    1,093
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Love the detail on the KF. The BG shows the bird real well. I would maybe dodge the eye area, and the bill a wee bit. Nice natural looking image Glenn. Well done.

    Will

  7. Thanks Glenn Pure thanked for this post
  8. #6
    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    12,487
    Threads
    1,892
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Very nice pose, and lovely background. Yes, maybe just a tad of brightening around the face might help.

  9. Thanks Glenn Pure thanked for this post
  10. #7
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Canberra, Australia
    Posts
    1,667
    Threads
    150
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Thanks Juan, Will, Joe and Bill. I did work on the shadows around the eye to lift this area but didn't want it to look too unnatural. Maybe I should revisit.

  11. #8
    Super Moderator arash_hazeghi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    San Francisco, California, United States
    Posts
    18,545
    Threads
    1,318
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Very appealing photo of the KF in habitat, I'd clone out the thinner branch under the main perch, wish the sun was behind your neck

    TFS
    New! Sony Capture One Pro Guide 2022
    https://arihazeghiphotography.com/Gu.../Sony_C1P.html


    ------------------------------------------------
    Visit my blog
    http://www.arihazeghiphotography.com/blog

  12. Thanks Glenn Pure thanked for this post
  13. #9
    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Nova Scotia
    Posts
    12,731
    Threads
    910
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    I love these KF's.
    Too bad the KF did not turn his head ever so slightly to his right so that the sun lit up his face a bit more.
    Still a very nicely processed image.
    I like the bit of wavy reed under the bird. Gives some nice lines.
    I wonder if you have thought of doing a pano and including the flowered end of the reed? Might look nice,
    Gail

  14. Thanks Glenn Pure thanked for this post
  15. #10
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Canberra, Australia
    Posts
    1,667
    Threads
    150
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Thanks Arash and Gail for your views. Agree a bit more light on the head and bill would have been nice but I usually avoid light directly behind me. I know it is popular and recommended by many but I think it destroys a lot of form and hides a lot of detail as the shadowing from side lighting disappears. IMHO, better to have that shadowing and handle it in processing than get rid of it. (But my favourite is soft light). As for the full flower head, it's not in the frame. These are quite long and it would have become a 'small in the frame' shot if I'd zoomed back and recomposed to include it - but agree it could have made quite a nice image.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Web Analytics