Resplendent Quetzal

[gail bisson]

This was my target bird when in Costa Rica.
I waited a total of 14 hours to get this image. We waited in the cold and rain on day 1 for 11 hours with no luck and then on day 2, literally 15 minutes before the van arrived to take us to the airport, the rain stopped and 2 males appeared for a total of 3 minutes.
We were on the side of a steep mountain, in a makeshift tin lean-to with our cameras trained on an avocado tree the entire time. This male used our set-up perch and the other juvie male used a natural perch. I will post that image on another day.
Not baited or called.
What a thrill to see this incredible bird.
Canon 1DX, 600mm v3
Shot in portrait mode and cropped to 70 % FF.
ISO 1600 f6.3@1/500.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Bill Dix]

Everyone's target bird. This is a beauty. Great light and exposure, nice HA. Excellent detail throughout; especially on the head. And background far enough distant to not be a distraction. Good of him to use your set-up perch. If I had one wish it would be for him to perch with his body on your side of the branch, but that would be asking too much.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, excellent angled pose here, and you have captured really good feather detail throughout the bird - tack sharp too, for such a slow ss. I like the overall colours, and the comp works well with the tail hanging below against a clean BG. Some may say your perch is too over powering, but I personally like it as presented. Congrats on getting your target bird. Im sure you enjoyed your flight back.

[Mike Poole]

Well done Gail, nice reward for the hours of getting nothing. Bird itself is stunning, details i the head have been brought out superbly. Agree with Stu about the perch, I'll be really interested to see how the one on the natural perch looks. Excellent processing

Mike

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Beautifully captured, and stunning bird. Like the story behind this great image, Gail. Wonderful detail throughout and lovely light.


Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[John Mack]

What a bird and what a tail. Love the colors in this image. Nice vertical framing. The lichen and plants on the perch are great.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Resplendent image!! Nice story too - fun when things work out, even if just barely within schedule! If anything, I would blend in the top edge dark spot above the head, my eye seems to wander there more than I like. All else? Top notch!