belted kingfisher set-up

[annmpacheco]

The sun was just rising and gave a great golden BG. I had no blinkies but needed to increase exposure (.17) and increased shadows in DPP +3. I like the over the shoulder pose but no feet as they are hidden behind the perch...

1Dx
600mm

1/250
f 8
ISO 1600

[arash_hazeghi]

the HA and the pose are great, exposure is good. I would sharpen him a bit less, I can see some over-sharpening artifacts (halos) in some parts but the details look great. If this guys is a frequent you may want to setup a nicer perch for him to use, but this one ain't bad either
TFS

[Simon Davis]

Look like you have handled the exposure well and a nice clean background. As you say a (minor) shame that the feet are hidden but other than that really like it.

[annmpacheco]

Hi Arash, I noticed the halo as a white line above the top beak and bottom of beak... I went back to DPP and it is there from the beginning. Sharpness is at 3, even when i lower sharpness it is still there out of the camera... ( I did smart sharpen in PS but halo was already there...)
Any thoughts as to how i can handle this?

the HA and the pose are great, exposure is good. I would sharpen him a bit less, I can see some over-sharpening artifacts (halos) in some parts but the details look great. If this guys is a frequent you may want to setup a nicer perch for him to use, but this one ain't bad either
TFS

[Bill Dix]

Hi Ann. A great pose (sans feet), head turn, lovely background. Good IQ. In my experience that bit of halo is not uncommon when you have a black object against a bright background, and as you say, not a result of PP. It can be easily removed, of course.

[arash_hazeghi]

I am not taking about the beak, the feathers show halo which is from sharpening

[Isaac Grant]

Man that is a seriously nice background! I love the pose, the head angle and those drooped wings. This is a really great kingfisher image. Agree it looks a touch over sharpened but that is an easy fix for a beautiful image. There are 2 small spots to the right of the birds chest that are darker than the rest of the background and stand out. I would clone them out.

[Glenn Pure]

Yes, what a wonderful image you have here Ann. The highlights look a lot better in this one and the rest hangs together nicely with great background, pose and perch. Not bothered by the missing feet. The catchlight is superb too. TFS

[gail bisson]

Love the BG. Agree with above comments re:sharpening.
Well done,
Gail

[David Salem]

Wow Ann even though this is a set up it sure is a beautiful frame. Looks fantastic in the larger size and yes just a hair less sharpening will finish this one off perfectly. I completely understand your dilemma as I am pretty much a purist also but I will be going to Costa Rica a in a few weeks and doing my 1st set up shots so I'll let you know how I feel about them when I get back. Well done.

[Doug Brown]

Hi Ann. Very nice detail, although I would definitely back off on the sharpening a bit. You have a classic photographic dilemma here; a bright BG and a shaded subject. This creates two problems. Correctly exposing the BG results in an underexposed bird. And the white balance is totally different for your subject and your BG. Fill flash would have helped with problem number one (Dave's going to pick up a few pointers when he joins me in Costa Rica next month). And a little post-processing helps minimize problem number two. I brightened the bird a bit, but more importantly I corrected the strong blue color cast that was present in your original post. What do you think? Maybe a little too warm, but this was a quick edit.