Diamond Firetail

[Dean Ingwersen]

Hi all,

This is an image of a Diamond Firetail, one of Australia's best looking finches (IMO). Captured last week in north-east Victoria. Wish for slightly smaller perch and bird larger in frame, but happy to get this image regardless as these birds are really hard to get close to.

Canon 20D, 500mm IS L & 1.4x tc, f/5.6, 1/250, ISO 100, AV -1/3.
PS CS2 - sh-h, levels, decent crop, sat, usm.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers, Dean

[Arthur Morris]

Agree on nice looking bird. Good self-critique. I love the white-spotted red rump. The bill and the front half of the bird's eye look relatively sharp, the back half of the eye and the crown look soft. Some selective sharpening using a contrast mask (Unsharp Mask at 15/65/0 for starters) would likely make a world of difference.

[Fernando Cerra]

I like the backgroun, probably a vertical crop would do better

[Dean Ingwersen]

Is this what you meant Artie?

[Dean Ingwersen]

Here is a repost with extra head sharpening and cropped to a vertical. I think it works better (thanks Artie and Fernando).

[Maxis Gamez]

What a lovely looking bird. The last post works for me as I find the perch a little overwhelming.

[Simon Bennett]

A very good shot Dean, I think the vertical crop works best. Also like the background colours. I still haven't got a decent shot of one around here - you are right they do keep their distance.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Nice image Dean. Like the vertical. Use a hide! :)

[Doug Brown]

Nice job Dean. I prefer the vertical crop, as it minimizes the perch effectively.

[Dean Ingwersen]

Thanks for all the comments...agree that the vertical works better too.

Cheers, Dean