Blue-winged Mountain-Tanager - direct from Colombia

[Dorian Anderson]

Woo hoo! First time in a week that I've internet! Almost done with my 7 weeks here in Colombia. It's been amazing, and I'll have more shots to share when I get back. For those that are interested, I've been helping the Audubon Society with an ecotourism project down here. You can read a bit more about it on my birding blog, http://thespeckledhatchback.blogspot.com/. If I'm breaking any rules by posting that, please let me know. I just think that it's a project that warrants attention, particularly as many of the North American songbirds featured in this month's theme winter in Colombia.

This a set-up photo taken outside Manizales
Canon 500mm f/4 IS on EOS 5D4
1/640 at f/7.1, ISO 1600, tripod
Processed in LR on my MacBook Air. I usually only edit on my desktop,
but I couldn't wait to fiddle with at least a few shots!

Cheers
Dorian

[Bill Dix]

A beautiful Tanager in a great pose. A new one for me but I've not yet been to Colombia. Were it mine I might have taken some of the bottom and added to the top, bit I suspect you didn't want to cut off that bit of dried moss on bottom left. Looking forward to many more from your great trip.

[Alex Becker]

I can see why you wouldn't want to wait to edit these shots! Very nice shot of a bird I havent' seen before. I like the perch a lot and the pose detail and color of the bird look good. Bit of rain is nice too. Looking forward to more. TFS

[Isaac Grant]

Nice to see some work from that amazing trip you are on. Beautiful bird, colors and details. I am not crazy about the perch angle. Too much out of focus in front and behind the bird.

[John Mack]

Neat looking bird. Never have seen one so i enjoyed that. Like the moss covered perch and the light rain.

[Dorian Anderson]

Nice to see some work from that amazing trip you are on. Beautiful bird, colors and details. I am not crazy about the perch angle. Too much out of focus in front and behind the bird.

Sadly, I had no say in the perch angle as it it was part of an installation that the owners didn’t want modified. Was also shooting from a porch corner so I had no where to go. The OOF stuff bothered me at first as well, but I came around as its doesn’t look like one of those too-perfect set-up shots.

[Tim Foltz]

Dorian, wow 7 weeks sounds like a blast my friend, still waiting on the book on your trek across the U.S.
Nice picture, great colors and BG, I think 90% of the shots from exotic locations are now setups.
It is what it is...

-Tim

[Daniel Cadieux]

What a great bird! Nice colours. The perch is OK I guess - did you take some horizontals? That would have cut the amount of oof area in the FG. No problem posting the link - very informative, thanks!

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Great looking Tanager, Dorian. Like the side view and nice head turn. Drops of rain add to the IQ.

Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[Dorian Anderson]

Dorian, wow 7 weeks sounds like a blast my friend, still waiting on the book on your trek across the U.S.
Nice picture, great colors and BG, I think 90% of the shots from exotic locations are now setups.
It is what it is...

-Tim

Very true. I enjoy shooting set-ups every one a while, usually I when I’m in the tropics. But crawling around in the mud with shorebirds is still my favorite. Those are well earned shots. Too much set-up work makes for a boring portfolio, particularly if you’re always using established set-ups.

[William Dickson]

Hi Dorian. What a great looking bird. Love the colours, pose and HQ. Nice detail as well. Not a fan of the perch though too much OOF.

Will