These guys are really dull outside of the breeding season...But in season...WOW!!
Very tough to expose correctly. I have done the best I know how...Any advice would be appreciated!
Canon 7D
Canon 400 f5.6 L
TV 1/1250
AV f8
ISO 800
Exp comp +0.67
Subject distance 6.5m
RAW file processed in CS5 Mac
I cannot give an advice on what you could have done differently but I will say I like the detail in the darks and reds of the Bishop. Nice perch and head angle as well.
I have found that a very moderate amount of fill-flash can help in these types of images (light direction from above so you have shadows on the belly and tail). Seems like you were close enough for flash to be effective. You could also try some "fill light" in Adobe Camera Raw or Shadows/Highlights in PSCS5.
I would also desaturate the reds and you will be able to see more detail in them.
I like your crop and the determinative perch is pleasing as it does not overpower the bird.
Lovely bird, good points above. On my monitor, the reds look pretty close on the crown, can still see some detail, but trying a selective desat of the red channel to see if there is more detail to be had is worthwhile, as Robert said. Whenever possible, with birds like this, I try to shoot several shots with different exposures to give myself a better chance of catching the reds properly.
Nice pose, perch, and background. Great thing about this forum is seeing beautiful birds from other parts of the world, and this one is no exception for me. Reds definitely look a little hot as others have mentioned, but I do not believe it detracts much from the image.
Hi Dumay , Nice pose with great HA and eye contact. Agree with Stuart difficult to expose but good suggestions above.. I find that some cloud cover to diffuse the light is about the only thing that works forme.
Nice pose. As pointed out above, selective desaturation of the red channel will really improve this image. For the purposes of education, here's a repost using just the JPEG. Reprocessing the RAW file will give you even better results.