Malachite Kingfisher

[Dumay de Boulle]

6D MKII
Tamron 150-600 G2
AV f8
TV 1/2000
ISO 800

Hi everyone. It's been a long time since I posted in Avian. I captured this from a speedboat in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. I wish for a little more DOF. But some of you may know you need to take the chances you get with these guys as they are so fast. Also trying to sneak up to them on a boat is even more difficult.

Anyway thanks for looking.

[gail bisson]

My second favorite bird!
Lovely frame and I love the BG and the way the green bleeds into the blue.
Love your comp. IQ looks good.
Did you know you can post bigger now? 1920 on the long side and max 600KB.
My only wish would be that the top grass was not there because it runs so close to the bill. It would be easy to clone out if you felt so inclined,
Gail

[Joseph Przybyla]

Beautiful bird, Dumay... nicely shown. Love the color palette, exposure and SH look good. I read Gail's suggestion regarding removing the reed/grass that is near the bill but I think it might be difficult near the birds upper right leg to do it and not leave traces. Thank you for sharing.

[annmpacheco]

Gorgeous colors, details Dumay, all looks tops , I would agree w Gail as I would love to see the URC w/o the oof grass as well as the other "uncooperative" oof grass at the base ... A slight 2nd catchlight I'd eliminate as well, looking forward to more posts.

[Dumay de Boulle]

Thanks for the comments. I will post bigger next time.

[John Mack]

Very nice. Really like the color on this kingfisher. The Composition and perch are nice.

[Alex Becker]

What a beauty. Nice composition and perch. In a perfect world, the beak wouldn't be so close to the reed, but I would take a shot of a KF like this any day of the week. I might clone out the second catchlight. TFS

[Paul Burdett]

Great to see a different Kingfishers than the variety seen here in Brisbane. Lovely composition, colours and a killer background. I'm fine with the grass, but do find the oof section bottom and top corners a little distracting. Interesting that you're using a 6D mk2...haven't seen many posts here taken with that camera. I have the 6D i...and love it for landscapes.

[David Salem]

I agree with Paul, great image but I am a little distracted by the OOF reeds. Easy fix if you aren't opposed to a little cloning. Well done

[Gabriela Plesea]

Lovely capture Dumay,
Nice techs, I like the image design and colours are superb, perfect pose and HA from the subject - wonderful work

Kind regards,

[Isaac Grant]

Great bird on a beautiful perch which is what it is all about! I do not mind the out of focus reeds, nor do I mind the upper stalk of grass as this is where these birds live. Removing them might make the image a little too perfect. I do find the whole image a little dark and I think it would benefit from some added exposure. Also I wish the light was a bit less harsh and you did not have such strong shadows on the bird. I would increase the exposure about .25% being careful to not blow out the throat area. I would also go into the camera raw filter and choose the brush. Then I would carefully paint in some increased whites (30-40 points) and increased shadows (30-50 points) to try and gently lift the belly that is heavily shadowed. Of course my numbers are just estimates and with any of those adjustments be careful not to introduce too much noise. Adjustments best made on the full res TIFF.

[Dumay de Boulle]

Thanks for all the comments...

Isaac very nice advice thanks. A few of those suggestions have gone over my head as I am unsure how to do some of that in PS but I will give it a look.

[Isaac Grant]

I am guessing it is the camera raw filter that ia the question? If so you chosse FILTER > CAMERA RAW FILTER. It will bring up a new screen. Choose the brush icon which is the 3rd from right on the top left of the screen. Then you will have a bunch of adjustment sliders on the right of the screen. Raise the shadows and the whites. Then adjust the brush size with the brackets. Then paint in the adjustments on the darker and shadowed areas. You can adjust sliders after you have painted the area to fine tine the adjustment. Then just hit OK (I think it is OK or maybe apply). Camera raw filter is a powerful tool. Hope that helps and let me know if you have more questions.

[Dumay de Boulle]

Thanks for that advice Isaac...I have found what you are talking about. Never even knew it was there. I will play around and see what's what.

[arash_hazeghi]

Very nice KF and I like the delicate perch. all critique points covered above so I'll just say TFS

[Arthur Morris]

Dumay, This one looks darned good to me. Super sharp with great FFD. If anything, you might consider a crop from below and from our left to move the bird farther away from the center. Welcome back.

with love, artie