The Model Malachite

[Morkel Erasmus]

This is one of my best shots of a Malachite Kingfisher to date. My own personal nit here is the area of hot whites at the back of the neck - I've tried to selectively work on that but didn't get the desired results. Any ideas?

Equipment: Canon 1000D with 100-400mm L IS USM @ 285mm
f7.1 @ 1/1000 SS @ ISO 400

Any advice and crits will help. Thanks!

PS: click on image for larger version - wanted to try out attachment feature

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the pose, angle and eye contact and would selectively sharpen the head more.

I fixed the attachment so people don't have to click on the thumbnail.

[Julie Kenward]

Morkel, I'm sure others will have a better way of doing this but I used the clone stamp set to darken and 30% and used the lightest white area under his chin as the clone source. It brought back a little of the detail.

I also took out the tiny bright spots on his beak and face.

[Stu Bowie]

Super pose Morkel, and although the light looks a bit harsh, you have exposed the colours nicely. Julie's repost works well.

[Dave Barnes]

Very nice pose with good colour and feather detail.

[Kobus Tollig]

Ditto Stu well done. I would also sharpen the head a bit more. Well done on this

[Mark Dumbleton]

Super effort Morkel! Like the head angle, and exposure under harsh condition well done.
Once parts of an image are blown, its hard to regain detail.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks for the comments guys. Julie - thanks for your effort I will try and apply it on the original.

[Isak Pretorius]

Morkel, one idea to fix the blown whites is to go back and try again! ;-) In hardish light it's difficult to get detail in the whites and the dark areas - especially on this guy! Best is to get him in very early morning light, otherwise you can use some PS techniques to fix this. Email or PM me if you need help!

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Isak...