Bell Miner

[Lance Peters]

The Bell Miner - had to work hard for this one - this is a rainforest bird and as such its sooooo hard to get it anywhere near the open - this shot took me a whole afternoon to get.
My favorite call - just like the sound of a bell ringing.

Ok - BG is a little busy - I dont mind it too much as the colours tie in with the bird.

Wished for - better perch and abetter head angle and a lower angle - had to take what I could get.

D3
NIKON 70-200VR with 2 X converter @320mm
f4.8
1/640th
+1.OEV
1600ISO

Comments welcomed :)

[Dan Brown]

Wow! I LOVE the BG! It is so artistic! and it matches the bird! It is a bit distracting but it's beautiful! BTW, the sharpness and exp are great too. Dan Brown

[Alfred Forns]

Your very close on this one and do like the sharpness with the converter !!!!

I think the colorful bg saves you here Might want to smooth out a little more Might just select the bird and apply Gaussian blur to the bg then reduce the effect Good looking bird and your efforts paid off !!!

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Good morning Lance!
I really love the BG as it is - quite lovely and does indeed compliment the beautiful bird. I'm thinking that maybe you could crop just a tad off the bottom (to just above where your signature is) as perhaps this might de-emphasize the post. Beautiful image - well done!
Regards,
Nicki

[Nonda Surratt]

Ohooo, ohooo LOVE,LOVE that BG and the bird is SUPER! What a great, neat looking bird! Good job!

Would try and blend in the bit of shadow (streak) right across the birds head and tone down the really whitish bright spot second spot from bird on right, bring the light blue down a bit more?

[Gus Cobos]

I like it very much Mr. Lance,
The background is very nice and different. The subject is placed well in frame, has a sharp eye with good head angle and good details in the feathers...congrats...:cool:

[Katie Rupp]

What a great capture, Lance, and a beautiful bird. I like the background.

[Harold Davis]

fantastic work on the eye!! love it! the bg is kooky!! would like to see what it would look like doing as al suggested. congrats on the capture. your efforts were well rewarded!!

[Lance Peters]

Hey MR H - you are not going to believe this!!! - I did not do any work on the eye in this shot - left it exactly as it was, it was sharpened a tiny tiny bit.

[Harold Davis]

wow!! then i like the combo of the 2x and the 70-200. i was already a fan of that lens. very fast!! awesome detail with the TC!!

[Lance Peters]

Mr H - yes it is a awesome combo for close up work, Iam using it on the D3 and don't notice any of the problems that many people are carrying on about on the net - mind you they are shooting test charts - Just cant seem to bring myself to hang a framed test chart in my lounge room :) :)

[Julie Kenward]

It's fabulous! Not technically perfect on the head angle but goodness gracious it's beautiful!

[Lance Peters]

Thanks Julie - my thoughts exactly, when I get time I will incorporate some of the suggestions to improve it that little bit more.
:)

[Geoff Gates]

Hi Lance,

This is an excellent image. Yes the BG is a bit busy but i would be pleased if it was my shot.

Unfortunately the bird is an Indian Mynah native to Asia (introduced to Australia in the 1860's and a pest species).

I have no doubt you heard Bell Miners but you'll have to keep trying to get an image of one. They have olive plumage and red behind the eye.

Regards,
Geoff Gates.

[Lance Peters]

Thanks Geoff- I stand corrected- not a Bell Miner.

:)

[Desmond Chan]

I like the eye and the tail. I'm late to this thread so whatever I had in mind has already been covered ;)

[Oscar Zangroniz]

Considering the 2x your image is extremely sharp. I tried this combination today using a tripod. Will post later if I got anything worth while. Love the colors and the BG. Sorry that I've not been around for a while.