Red-headed Barbet (Colombia)

[Dorian Anderson]

Recently absent due to other projects, I'll pick up with my summer Colombian theme again. This is a juvenile
Red-headed Barbet photographed in the Western Andes above Cali. What you can't see out of the frame
right is the adult holding a piece of offered banana. The youngster didn't want to walk/fly those two feet,
so he instead protested from this shown position. The adult was having none of it and refused to cave to
the young bird's begging demands. I was ready to crush the two of them together if he had. Oh well......

This set-up was optimized for the morning, so I was fighting some funny backlighting later in the day. This
and the adult were the only barbets that came in all day, so I shot them despite the less-than-perfect light.
Happy with the result regardless......

Canon 500mm f/4 IS v1 on EOS 5D Mark IV
1/640 at f/5.6, ISO 1000, Manual
Processed in LR CC without trickery

[annmpacheco]

Hi Dorian, nice to have you back on board and with a real winner here! What wonderful IQ, behavior and clean BG... I really like the details throughout the juvie. There are a few trace whiskers that poke in three places and I would give them a "trim", as they immediately caught my eye... I would wish that the ferns were not dried out and brown... Wonderful work.

[Dorian Anderson]

Haha! Good point on the whiskers, Ann! I just gave him a digital shave! Thanks!

Hi Dorian, nice to have you back on board and with a real winner here! What wonderful IQ, behavior and clean BG... I really like the details throughout the juvie. There are a few trace whiskers that poke in three places and I would give them a "trim", as they immediately caught my eye... I would wish that the ferns were not dried out and brown... Wonderful work.

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Dorian. That's one angry look..."don't mess with me!". Really like the composition, colours and clarity. It's amazing the variety of birdlife in South America!

[Isaac Grant]

This is great Dorian. Love everything about this one. Pose, head angle, details, image quality, perch, background. This one has everything that a quality shot of a song bird needs plus some great action which takes it way over the top. This is by far my favorite shot I have seen from your trip so far. Looking forward to more.

[Daniel Cadieux]

This is great! I love the begging pose. Setting is alright too. I see what you mean about the light, but it's not bad - it gives off a "deep woods" type of feel. I do find the WB a touch yellow though.

[John Mack]

Nicely balanced frame. Great background. Neat looking bird. The begging pose is nice. Details look quite good.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dorian, well timed to have captured this behavioural pose, and that's one large beak for a smallish bird. I really like the colours on this subject, a Barbet I have not seen before. Although the perch is a touch busy, the Barbet still steals the show. Killer upper smooth BG too.

[Bill Dix]

Great looking bird, in a great begging pose. Very nice detail and background. I don't mind the lighting. A fine image of a bird I've never seen.