Sacred Kinfisher

[Paul Burdett]

My camera was setup to photograph an Osprey flying overhead...not a good angle for a shot, when I noticed this Kingfisher land on the rock. It was only there for a short time...enough to get this shot.

D500/500PF, 1/3200th sec@f5.6, iso640, manual mode HH. Thank you for looking and commenting on my photos.

[arash_hazeghi]

love the light and colors. did you have to use AI sharpen or resize on this one? I am asking because the details seem to be a bit lacking in the chest, back of the head as shoulder areas ? I like the perch and the barnacles

TFS

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks Arash. Correct on both counts (sharpen/resize). Appreciate your feedback.

[Randy Stout]

Paul:

Agree about the colors being very nice. Pose is good, rocks texture and color works well without over powering him.

Cheers

Randy

[Arthur Morris]

Nice, but I would love to have seen the tail. The o-o-f rock behind the perch rock bugs me. Getting a bit lower would have eliminated the second rock.

with love, a

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks Randy and Artie...appreciate the feedback.
Artie: The oof rock doesn't bug me...but is easily removed in post...will do that and see how I feel about it then. Cheers.

[Brian Sump]

Paul, I think you captured this one nicely. We only have Belted Kingfishers here and I would love to shoot some of the more colorful subspecies in the future.

I think the composition is solid. You handled the contrast well and the colors are pretty. Nice smooth bkg.

I could use a *touch of selective color saturation. Try the sponge brush at 8% and gently touch over the turquoise and oranges to taste. You may like it as is too, which is fine but may be worth a look.

Might also suggest just a touch of selective sharpening on the base of the beak and around the eye. See how you like it.

Well done overall Paul from my view.

[William Dickson]

Not very often you see a FK on the barnacles...Well captured Paul...Lovely colours, especially on the wing...I also like the dark BG...Yes for sharpening the bill a wee bit...and if mine I would clone out the OOF rock.

Will

[John Mack]

Neat looking kingfisher. The light is nice. Framing is right on.

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks all for commenting...much appreciated as always.
Brian: I'll apply your suggestions...thanks so much.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Paul , lovely KF image .
Pose is looking good , as is the overall comp .
Personally I think the IQ is not as good as some of your other images , that you posted recently . Maybe too much fancy software usage .... I am just guessing .

Not sure how they do look in real life .... more colorful ?? If so you can follow Brian´s suggestion or use other options

I would burn the perch to make the subject stand out a bit more .

PS: the image has no embedded color profile .... like your other postings

TFS Andreas

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks Andreas. I made sure the colour profiles were embedded some time ago..will take another look...maybe the setting got changed. Cheers.

Brian: Applied your suggestions as well as Andreas' suggestion to burn the perch a tad...looks better. Never used the sponge tool before in photoshop!