A very common bird around a lake near my home town. I'm always fascinated by the beauty of his eyes and his metallic plumage.
Nikon D2Hs, 200-400 VR, 1/60", f/9, @400mm, 800 ISO, Fill flash+Better Beamer @-3EV, Handheld. Full frame.
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A very common bird around a lake near my home town. I'm always fascinated by the beauty of his eyes and his metallic plumage.
Nikon D2Hs, 200-400 VR, 1/60", f/9, @400mm, 800 ISO, Fill flash+Better Beamer @-3EV, Handheld. Full frame.
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Great to see another common Aussie bird. :) I love these guys too. They are supposedly the fourth most intelligent animal after a dolphin or so one of our WIRES scientist tells people. Smart; that they are and they also have a powerful bite (ouch). I would probably prefer to see it more side-on with the thick bill showing, but it looks good here too, because I can see both eyes. Though the bill sort of disappears as it is as dark as the bird. Those throat hackles look fabulous! :)
Good eye contact and the beard really shows up well, as does the iridescence. Looks to have a bluish cast - how does this neutralised version look?
Tony Whitehead
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I like Tony's repost. I also like the eye contact and the colors in the feathers. I would work on the eyes a little by selectively sharpening and increasing the blacks a bit. If you haven't seen it Robert O'Toole's APTATS has a great section on eye repair.