Yucatán Nightjar (Belize)

[Dorian Anderson]

No, I am not in Belize, but I am reaching into the archives since I haven't touched my camera in the 30 days since returning from Thailand.

This bird was spotted-lighted from our van and miraculously stayed put as I walked 50 yards into the field to photograph it (probably a
questionable decision given the ever-present possibility of fer-de-lance down there).

Perch is a fencepost, but I thought it looked natural enough to use.

There field was really big, so the flash was entirely lost behind the bird; hence the 'blackground'

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in December. Birding the Mayan sites Tikal and Yaxha was unforgettable. Contact me for info.

Canon 400mm f/4 IS DO II on EOS 1D4
1/250 at f/5.6, ISO 1600
All light from 580 ex II and better beamer, on-camera.
Processed in LR CC. I did remove a bit of steely eye resulting from the on-axis flash.

[arash_hazeghi]

love the bird, but it is a bit overflashed (especially perch is too bright) I'd would love to see a bit of texture in the pitch black BG

I remember the 1D4 sucked with the flash, you had to adjust many things to get it right.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Great capture given the conditions, Dorian. Considering pitch black night, and the possibility of an encounter with the snake, this is a fine capture. I might suggest to tone down the flashed area on underside of far wing and lowered tail. The fencepost could also be toned down a bit.


Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dorian, the flash has brought out the colours of the Nightjar nicely, and pops against the night BG. I'm fine with the fence perch, but agree toning down the exposure on it would work.
I watched a program on Belize the other night - a wonderful place with beautiful mangroves.

[John Mack]

Detail on the bird is quite nice here. The blackground makes the bird really stand out. Agree about the perch. Framing is nice.

[Aditya Sridhar]

Very nice frame, Dorian. I actually like the look of the flash because the background is completely black and the bird pops. The issues with the perch and the tail have already been addressed. I'd shift the bird slightly to the RHS - as is it's a bit too centered IMO. TFS.

[Bill Dix]

Great bird, Dorian. The bird looks good to me, but I'd definitely tone down the perch. Reminds me of a similar encounter, walking across a field in the pitch black in Trinidad to get to a spotlit Common Potoo. Happily neither of us encountered any snakes.