Scarlet Macaw w/new Canon 2x TC

[Greg Basco]

Hi, while on my trip with Doug Brown, we stopped at a spot I know for macaws. These are wild macaws, some of which have been bred and released into the wild and others that come to feeders that a local farmer puts out. While there, I was happy to get this nice portrait that I think really shows off the performance of the new Canon 2x, particularly when stopping down as I was able to do here. Thanks, Doug, for letting me borrow the new TC!



Tech: Canon 5D, Canon 300 mm f2.8, series 2x TC, 550 EX at -3 to tame but not eliminate shadow from fairly strong directional light, ISO 500, f13, 1/400, tripod w/RRS ballhead and Wimberley Sidekick

PP: Full-frame, a bit of vibrance and saturation in Lightroom, selective NR and sharpening in PS

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Doug Brown]

That was a great spot Greg! You've captured all the color and feather detail (notably in the reds) of the Scarlet Macaw beautifully! And you couldn't have asked for a nicer BG. About the only thing I'd consider doing would be to move the bird slightly lower in the frame.

[arash_hazeghi]

very nice Greg, I love the details and colors! well done

[Morkel Erasmus]

IQ is awesome, not to mention the colours!

[Clemens Vanderwerf]

Beautiful colors and detail, Greg. I agree with Doug on putting the bird a little lower in the frame with a bit more room at the top.

[Jim Crosswell]

Sharp, colourful and detailed image. Well done Greg!

[Bill Dix]

Spectacular colors - they jump off the screen without looking over-saturated. Great detail. Ditto above comments; the ROT is not something to follow religiously, but in this case putting the eye at the ROT might work very nicely.

[Joe Senzatimore]

Detail'color and BG all come together. Sweet.

[Ben_Sadd]

I agree that the bird would look better composed lower in the frame, but this image is a great testament to your skill and the 2x. The detail is fantastic. Costa rica is definitely on my list of to visit places. I really enjoyed Panama, but photography seems to be catered for to a greater degree north of the border. Any bpn discounts greg

[Giulio Zanni]

Fantastic bird! I could only see them flying high in the sky of Costa Rica. I would also love to see a picture of the full bird.

Giulio

[Grady Weed]

I shoot a 5d and the 300 2.8. It can be an impressive combo when used in skilled hands. Like here. Well done.

[Harshad Barve]

Super shot this is
TFS

[Greg Basco]

Thanks, everyone, for your comments. I have to say that I'm fine with the comp as is but I can see the point of those mentioning moving the bird lower in the frame. Doing so, however, would have meant that I lost the blue feathers, and I really wanted to include all three colors. So, not much I can do at this point.

Harshad, thanks for the beer glasses -- a great way to start the day as I check e-mails and such this morning!

Cheers,
Greg

PS -- Ben, that's something I hadn't considered; we'll see