Ferruginous Antbird

[Octavio Campos Salles]

Anyone who has photographed in rainforests know how frustrating it can be. The light is weak and often contrasty, there's always a lot of stuff between you and the bird, and the bird itself, especially small insectivores, are very active and shy. So taking that into account I was quite happy with this photo of a Ferruginous Antbird in ambient light, an endemic bird from the Atlantic Rainforest of SE Brazil.



Nikon D200
Nikkor 600mm f/4 AF-S
1/160 @ f/5.6 on tripod
ISO 400

[Randy Stout]

Octavio:

I appreciate the backstory here. I struggle in our open forests here, with the dappled light, and can only image the challenges in the rain forest.

One thing that really helps in the image review process is to have all the tech. details, ISO, exposure details, support (tripod vs. handheld) etc. Even post processing info if helpful, both for use to learn and to advise.

This is a colorful fellow, pose really suggests intensity, well exposed overall although the whites on the back are close to the edge. I might try one more round of USM on the bird only.

I would consider toning down the leaves in the LLC just a bit, as they tend to pull your gaze out of the frame.

Thanks for sharing.

Randy

[Octavio Campos Salles]

You are right Randy, I forgot to add the EXIF details, have edited the post now to add that.

The white on the back is very hard to get on film, it's extremelly bright, they only flash it when they are aggressive.

regards

[Randy Stout]

Octavio:

I did check the whites in NX2, and they peaked at about 250-251, so right on the edge, but not blown.

Thanks for adding the tech. info. Do you find the noise performance of the D200 make a higher ISO a problem? A bit more DOF would have been nice on the bird, and might have been an option to push up the ISO a smidge.

I shoot a D300 and D700, so don't know the noise of the D200 well.

Cheers

Randy

[Octavio Campos Salles]

Randy, yes I do think the D200 high ISO is a limiting factor. I try to limit at 500, 640 at most. It's a great rugged camera with great image quality, but not up to todays standards in high ISO. My next buy is going to be a D300.

[Randy Stout]

Octavio:

There is quite a buzz that the D400 will be announced in a few months, might be worth holding off to see what it is like!

Randy

[Octavio Campos Salles]

Really? Didn't know that... if it confirms than the D300 will soon beging to drop in price....

[Randy Stout]

Octavio;

Not for certain on the D300 price dropping. Nikon has cut way back on production because of the recession, and so they are in short supply.

Randy

[Juan Aragonés]

Octavio you did a good job considering the extremely difficult conditions of bird photography in the rainforest and I like the composition. too bad that you couldn´t use a higher ISO for more deep of field. I love the pose of the bird and the perch a lot but I find the out of focus brownish area in the BG (near the tail) very distracting.
Regarding the D300, I buyed one just a week ago and it works very nicely but I miss a lot the feeling of my D2X.

[Randy Stout]

Juan:

I used a D1x a lot, and always liked the feel (not the weight). Even now, if I pick it up, the feel is fine.

I have the grip for the D300/D700, and its better, but not quite the same as the pro bodies.

Cheers

Randy