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Thread: Red-legged Honeycreeper

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    Default Red-legged Honeycreeper

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    Red-legged Honeycreeper, shot in Costa Rica with Nikon D3s + 400/2.8 VR at 1/750 f11 -1/3, flash, 3200 iso.

    Thanks for looking, Giulio

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    Really nice colors and pose with a complementary BG, Guilio.

    Maybe the top of the head could be darkened a bit - looks distractingly light compared to the rest of the bird.

    And the catchlight (from flash, I assume) seems a bit large.

    Just curious: why were you stopped down so much for an isolated bird?

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    Wow that is some seriously plumage on this guy!! What a beauty!! Good pose, perch, comp. I agree the catchlight (and refelction) is a bit big, and I also agree that opening up (and lowering the ISO somewhat, you had enough SS to do so) would be good options in the field. There is a pale area of the BG skimming the bird's back that could be selectively darkened a bit.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Allen Hirsch View Post

    Just curious: why were you stopped down so much for an isolated bird?
    To maximize depth of field at close distance. I was really close and you can see that the tail is starting to get out of focus + no much time to think with these guys, they move really fast, back and forth under different lights.

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    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Great pose and nice sharpness. Good detail in both the blues and the blacks. I have to agree with the others about your choice of camera settings. If anything, it looks like motion blur rather than a DOF issue; you can see the softness in the wing tips, which are behind the tail feathers. I leave for Costa Rica in a couple of days and hope to come away with some good Honeycreeper shots of my own!
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    I get an eye-massage soaking in those rich blues and that simple green BG. Daniel has some good suggestions about the catchlight and the BG skimming the bird's back. Regarding your use of ISO 3200, let me say that I'm on my klunky old laptop, which has a monitor that is unforgiving when it comes to noisy photos, and I'm not seeing so very much noise at all in your shot. Your second post, in which you explain your stopping down to f11, is instructive. I think you saw the need for some DOF, and you possibly dialed down without even looking, all the while trusting that your camera could handle ISO 3200.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Craig Brelsford View Post
    I think you saw the need for some DOF, and you possibly dialed down without even looking, all the while trusting that your camera could handle ISO 3200.
    Thanks all for your comments!

    What would opening by a couple of stops have practically improved? As noise at high iso with D3s is not an issue :w

    Giulio
    Last edited by Giulio Zanni; 01-19-2011 at 07:53 AM.

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    IOTY Winner 2010 Chris Kotze's Avatar
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    Super looking species and lovely colours. Sharp and great exposure
    Chris Kotze

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    Johan Kruger
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    impressive that this is shot at iso3200, interesting bird, looks a bit like batman (mask and cape) , lovely colors

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    Quote Originally Posted by Allen Hirsch View Post
    Really nice colors and pose with a complementary BG, Guilio.

    Maybe the top of the head could be darkened a bit - looks distractingly light compared to the rest of the bird.

    And the catchlight (from flash, I assume) seems a bit large.

    Just curious: why were you stopped down so much for an isolated bird?
    Darkening the feathers on head would just ruin the image since those are the real colors of those feathers.
    I also belive that it was not necessary to stop down so much, may be f/6.3? any ways, the image is yours and you do what you think is best. I agree that this birds move a lot, they are small and have to be careful since they have lots of predators.

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