Resplendant Quetzal female in the rain

[gail bisson]

No porch or cocktail in hand for this image.
This was taken on day 2 of a stake-out at an avocado tree in a farmer's field. We waited 12 hours the previous day in a lean-to with no success re: male resplendant quetzal. We did have several females right in the tree but no opportunity for nice clear shots.
We were leaving for the airport on this day and the 2 girls on the workshop begged for another try before heading back to the airport. It was pi** pouring rain but we didn't care.
As soon as we arrived this female landed on a clear perch. It was really windy and created a really neat effect with the raindrops. The male resplendant quetzal did make an appearance on a nice perch literally 15 minutes before the rest of the group was coming to pick us up. Success!!
Anyway, I like this and would love to hear your thoughts. It was very dark and I kept the image as I recall the scene.
Canon 1 DX 600mm v3 60% FF
ISO 2500 SS 1/125 F 6.3
Nothing added or cloned. Processed in LR CC and PS CC.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[kevin Hice]

Beautiful shot Gail in hard conditions looks like you persevered. Not sure about the rain drops for me.It does show the dark gloomy conditions well. I may have been tempted to warm it up a bit.just my personnel preference.I think the air plants show great color pallette between them love the contrasts and textures TFS

[Bill Dix]

Beautiful. Feels like a painting. I like the dark tones and swirly raindrops. Overall if feels very green to me, but that is probably the way it was. Well done and congrats on your perseverance.

[gail bisson]

Thanks Kevin. I did process the same image with a bit warmer tones ( so I am understanding your thought process here)but thought I would show the cooler version. Here is the second version I did.
I think the cooler version is truer to the conditions on that day but the warmer version is prettier. Your thoughts on the warmer version?

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Excellent capture under all the conditions. I too love what the wind has done to the raindrops. Like the way he's perched with nice head position. Here's a vote for the original post.


Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[Dorian Anderson]

The raindrops are killer, and you couldn't have asked for a better perch! Was it deliberately placed or fortuitous? Regardless the image is beautiful and has a wonderful painterly quality. The higher ISO is starting to show a bit, but I think that helps yield the painterly feel to which I alluded. Nice to see the female getting some respect!

[William Dickson]

I like the OP best....Fabby Gail. Great looking frame. Absolutely beautiful....detail, bird, pose, perch, BG, POV....Nectar

Very well done

Will

[Alex Becker]

Awesome shot. I love the swirly rain. Bird and perch look great as well as the BG. First image is it for me. I might add a couple points to the blacks on the bird to give it some more pop. I would love to photograph this bird and get an image this nice. TFS

[John Mack]

Love the bird,perch and of course that rain. The shape of the drops is just wonderful. Nice framing as well. Nice one.

[dankearl]

I cannot say enough about how good this is.. First off, staying for 12 hours to photograph a bird
is pretty dedicated.... for as long as you have been doing this, your enthusiasm is inspiring when
so many have stopped posting images on critique websites.
This is the best Rain image I have seen I think, just stunning.
The bird is awesome, perch is great and your patience and processing is just first rate.
You probably print as many photos as I do, which is basically none, but I would print and frame this!

[kevin Hice]

Gail I prefer the warmer version as it does pop more. But the original was still great. As all of your submission, always look forward to viewing as pretty much know what to expect.Superb posts. Forgot to mention love the story and dedication.

[Aditya Sridhar]

Gorgeous shot Gail! I totally admire your dedication. I agree wholeheartedly with all the positives mentioned above. That rain is just special. I agree with Alex that adding a couple of points to the Blacks will give the image more punch. Very well done!

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Gail, beautiful bird, wonderful perch, lovely image. Techs spot on, nice feather detail. Either version of the image works for me, not much difference between them. My first thought upon opening the image was that I would burn the bright lichen, they look a little bright compared to the rest of the image. Thank you for sharing.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gail .... Wow love the rainy shot !!
All works well together ! For me the cooler OP is the more fitting one to the scene .
I think a bit can be done on the tonal range as it appears a bit flat in parts .... but not adding some points of black as mentioned above . Some slight curves adjustment would do the better job and work selectively , not global .

Wonder where the noise is coming from at Iso 2500 ?

TFS Andreas

[Alex Becker]

I think a bit can be done on the tonal range as it appears a bit flat in parts .... but not adding some points of black as mentioned above . Some slight curves adjustment would do the better job and work selectively , not global .

Hey Andreas, out of curiosity, why would you go with curves instead of selective color (assuming both applied on just the bird)?

Once again Gail, awesome image -- I've come back to it a couple times today.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Alex ... blacks just adding too much density IMHO . Curves are a more elegant and more controllable approach to add some punch . And i think the perch can stand some more depth , too . Looking washed out !!!

To me selective color is a more simple tool and if you use it globally .... well not working for . As i like to have full control and that is not given with this tool , apart from pushing slider.

[gail bisson]

Hi Alex ... blacks just adding too much density IMHO . Curves are a more elegant and more controllable approach to add some punch . And i think the perch can stand some more depth , too . Looking washed out !!!

To me selective color is a more simple tool and if you use it globally .... well not working for . As i like to have full control and that is not given with this tool , apart from pushing slider.

Thanks for your advice Andreas. I have redone the image with a tweak in curves on the perch and one with bumping up the blacks in selective coloring. The differences are very subtle but I understand now your comment about more control.

[Mike Poole]

Gorgeous shot Gail, well worth the wait. Love the swirling rain and the perfect head angle. Some good options thrown up in the thread

Mike

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the classic Quetzal portraits better but it is nice to see something different and for this image I like the water drops. looks like the IQ didn't hold up that great noise is visible on the bird, doesn't look like a big crop so must be from processing

TFS