Black-billed Cuckoo with prey

[Julie Brown]

I have been shooting at a local state park that has been designated as an important bird area by the Audubon Society. On this afternoon I noticed some movement in a bush. When I looked through the viewfinder I saw this bird with a caterpillar dangling from its beak. It quickly ate it, then snatched another one and ate that too!:cool:

Canon 40D, 300mm f2.8L IS + 2X TC (960mm), ISO 400, f5.6 @ 1/500sec, Tv, 1EV, pattern metering, bogen monopod w/RRS monopod head

PP: LR 2.6
about 60% crop
set black and white points, highlight recovery
enhanced clarity and vibrance
adjustment brush to bring down highlights on branches
NIK software: Dfine 2.0 for NR; Viveza 2.0; ColorEfex Pro 3.0; Sharpener Pro Output

In light of the recent discussions in the educational and general photography forums regarding HA and cropping, I think the decisions I made with this image illustrates the points brought up there. Although I used a 2X TC, I felt I had enough sharpness to crop it this much. I also chose this head angle because it showed the eye detail that is IMO an interesting characteristic of this bird. I had other images with a better HA, but the direction of the light put the eye in shadow. Better photographers with longer lenses would probably trash this, but it works for me and I like the behavior captured.:)

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Julie

Really like the thinking behind this image and fully agree with you !! I like the idea of using the converter for getting the size bird needed ... and image quality is fine !! The 300 2.8 is a particularly good performer

I like the selected crop with space given up front !!! I think in this case would be worth the effort evicting the one branch in front of the bird, would show the catch cleaner and have a better overall look !! Like it a lot very fine capture !!

... btw head angle wise I think is perfect .. and related to head angle ... at times we get a bird looking away or not to the place we want him to but if he is doing a task to me looks more natural than the bird staring at me. Sort of like a candid portrait or saying birdie look a the camera !!!

[Dan Brown]

Hi Julie. I really like this image! The HA does seem to be a bit off but the eye is very nice and if all you sacrificed is a tiny bit of HA to get that great eye, it's worth it! I might try a little more NR on the BG. Great bird!!

[Lance Peters]

Hi Julie - like it a lot - the catch really adds interest to the image.
Agree that the HA is off just a little - but doesnt bother me in this instance branch in front needs to be evicted and improves the image - done really quickly - but you get the idea.
Techs look solid.
Congrats :)

[Ann Fiske]

Hi Julie,
Like your Cuckoo with yummy caterpillar.:) Not an easy bird to find and capture.
In my files, that's a keeper too.;)
Agree with Al on getting rid of the one branch.

ann

[Dave Mills]

Hi Julie, I took the liberty to work on your image and give you another idea. I cropped the image since I felt there was too much bright,negative space in front of the bird. I removed the bright foliage behind the bird since I felt it was distracting. I darkened and took out most of the hard edges in the backround and finally took out the branch in front of the bird. I like the fact you caught the bird with an insect.
Not alot you can do when you see a bird in habitat but I feel you captured a good representation of the species....
I did the work quickly...

[Harold Davis]

lance's repost nailed it for me. i love the compositional thinking on this one. the light is great and the bg just fantastic!!

[Julie Brown]

Thank you Al, Dan, Lance, Ann, Dave, and Harold for the comments.

I agree that the branch in front of the bird is a distraction. Lance's repost took care of that nicely, and Dave's repost cleaned it up some more! I started working on removing the branch, but had a problem with getting a clean edge next to the prey. I always end up with halos when I try to clone close to an object. Besides using the clone tool in LR and PSE, I don't know how else to do this. :confused:

[Dave Leroy]

A very nice image and a nice find. Good for you.

I think my preference for a crop would be the second with a bit less on the left. All three have a different appeal.

Sometimes reducing the opacity and upping the size on the clone tool will gte rid of tell tale marks after doing the removal.

[Julie Brown]

Thanks Dave. I was on the other side of a stream when this bird appeared. It was facing the afternoon light, and as I understand it, these birds hide well, so I feel lucky to have the capture. :)

[Lance Peters]

Thank you Al, Dan, Lance, Ann, Dave, and Harold for the comments.

I agree that the branch in front of the bird is a distraction. Lance's repost took care of that nicely, and Dave's repost cleaned it up some more! I started working on removing the branch, but had a problem with getting a clean edge next to the prey. I always end up with halos when I try to clone close to an object. Besides using the clone tool in LR and PSE, I don't know how else to do this. :confused:

hi Julie
you need to look into quick masks. - Robert Otoole has a fantastic cd that makes it very easy
other than that can be done with the clone tool - work at 100!percent and just go slowly
I usually pu k the easy areas first and leave the hard parts to last - if you have Photoshop. Cs5 you can also try conent aware fill , choose small sections works well on some areas
:)

[Julie Brown]

Thanks for the tip, Lance. I will have to check into getting that CD. I have PSE right now and really need to learn how to clone cleanly.