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Thread: The Racket Tailed Drongo

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    Default The Racket Tailed Drongo

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    very difficult subjects to deal with, one because they are always in the forest canopy and the other because of their length.

    Did not know how to handle the shadows. wanted to share this beautiful bird with you, This is a male and a great mimic too, he sure can blast out a varity of tunes.

    Spec: 1/800, F 6.3, ISO 400.

    canon 40D + 500mm + 1.4 TC

    regards,

    Kiran

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    This is mindblowing stuff , they are real skullers and as per my info they can mimic 8-9 sounds
    lovely image with nice details , great use of DOF , light nicely handled , lovely perch & killer BG
    TFS
    Last edited by Harshad Barve; 09-24-2009 at 08:07 AM. Reason: spell

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Kiran:

    What a tail! You would think it would be very prone to damage.

    Harsh light, but good detail in the feathers. Love the inquisitive pose. Nice BG. Sharp.

    Might consider toning down the brightness of the perch just a bit.

    Hope to see some more of this fellow. When they fly, do the long tail feathers stick straight back, or do they dangle down some?

    Randy

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    Forum Participant Michael Zajac's Avatar
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    Kiran, Love the species and the most especially the tail. Nice HA and pose. BG looks great. Lighting looks harsh and I would tone down the perch and bill.

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    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Great bird with a pose that really shows off those tail feathers! Super detail in the blacks. I would tone down the perch a bit.
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    Thank you guys for your kind words and suggestions, as suggested I have toned down the perch and beak, tell me what you feel.

    @ Randy, their tail is prone to damage, but grows back quickly, you really dont find too many of them with one of the tail missing. when they fly short distances like hunting flys or from tree to tree their tail is dangleing, when they are in proper flight they stick together. Sure Randy will make more images of them and post.

    Regards,

    Kiran

  7. #7
    Axel Hildebrandt
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    Cool bird, good eye contact and BG. The repost looks better but I would tone down the white spots on the perch more and I would try to get more details in the blacks.

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    lovely specimen and you did good with the light you had! we also have a few birds who develop long tails during breeding months and they struggle to fly with them...
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Kiran:

    I prefer the darker perch. :)

    Randy

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    Repost looks better

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Hey Kiran, lovely looking bird, and although the light looks harsh, you have brought out some good detail. I like the pose, and the tail is certainly interesting. Repost looks good Brother.

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    You handled the blacks rather well. Also, you are lucky to get a specimen with a racket tail. More often than not I find them missing one or both at times.

    Good exposure, lovely pose showing off the back and tails and obviously the bg that is smooth to make the subject stand out.

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    Lifetime Member Loukie Viljoen's Avatar
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    Well done Kiran, I have a watercolor painting of this drongo by Leigh Voight, I have never seen it but eventually thought the artist made it up, now I know, thank you for sharing.

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    Forum Participant Manos Papadomanolakis's Avatar
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    nice looking bird with a beautiful pose and nice bg....yes the light looks a bit harsh,but still a beautiful image!

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    Nice repost and you handled the lighting well. Looks like an interesting bird. I like the pose it shows off it's tail and feathers nicely.

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    Kiran...well done considering the harsh light. love these birds. When they fly, it always looks as if two big bees are chasing them :-)

    KD

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    Super Moderator arash_hazeghi's Avatar
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    Excellent exposure job with those blacks, nice smooth BG. sharp detail on the bird. TFS. Repost is an improvement.
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  18. #18
    Suzanne Huot
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    Kiran ,this is by far the best image I have seen posted of this hard to get in the open bird,I, think you got very good detail out of harsh lighting conditions

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    Ditto Suzanne here.
    Kudos to you Kiran. Excellent work

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    Ákos Lumnitzer
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    Exceptionally cool-looker! Not ideal light, but I'd shoot it too without thinking a moment! Great job Kiranbhai. Love the repost. Hats off. :)

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    Wow.. what an amazing looking bird! Nice detail, BG, HA and colors. Light was a little harsh IMO.
    Congratulations!!

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