Normally, the Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) is so elegant and well groomed in his fine pink feathers, black mustache, beautiful blue and black coverts, and black tail. So it is hilarious to watch the disarray when he takes a bath - splashing vigorously and soaking his feathers, throwing his crest up and looking around after each plunge as he shakes off the excess water.
I've tried to catch this comic of nature in mid-act here, so I hope you can enjoy!
Image captured from a hide with a Canon 1D Mk III, EF500 f/4L IS. 1/500 sec at f/5.6, ISO 2500.
Post production in LR2 included some Recovery to tone down some of the splashes. In PS4 some minor adjustments and NR on the background and OOF / moving parts of the Jay.
I also have plenty of images of a well groomed Jay, but this is far more fun!
Fun it is! I like the idea, but I would decrease the contrast a bit with an inverse curve adjustment and also it is very tight at the bottom, if you cropped and had more space there, it could be added.
Good eye contact and EXP control.
Hi Gerald, I agree with Fabs about more room. I do like your low angle. I, too love the bathing images. They look like they're having so much fun. Congratulations on great exposure and a cool image.
Thanks for the comments and suggestions.
This is full frame and I did have to add a centimeter or so to the top, so not much opportunity for adding at the bottom. Happily, I also have some more similar images with more space around, as this was a favorite bathing spot for Jays and the tend to go really wild in the water.:eek:
I'm going to back off the contrast a little on this one and see how it goes - thanks for the suggestion, Fabs.