We have had a lot of rain over the last few days and there is a tree at the bottom of my yard that has a hollow that fills with water and holds it for a while.
A group of Musk Lorikeets were bathing there and fighting over access. Early morning light.
1DXII 600mm F/4L III 1.4x III 840mm HH
1/500 f6.3 iso800 +0.3ev (should have bumped the iso and f-value, next time)
Cropped, lowered the exposure on the body and raised it on the head, NR to BG, light sharpen.
Can't get detail from the red but it doesn't look blocked on the histogram.
This is such a fun frame! The setting and behavior is unlike anything I've seen before, particularly the splash and wet trunk. Lighting on the bird is great, but I find the back bird a bit distracting
as he intersects the main subject's face. A bit more head turn towards you would have helped as well.
I like this one a lot Colin, Beautiful bird doing something interesting, and the flying water adds a lot for me. I could live without the bird i the background, might be worth breaking out the cloning tools if thats within your ethics