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Thread: Post 750! Narcissus Flycatcher

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    Default Post 750! Narcissus Flycatcher

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    For my 750th post on BPN, and in celebration of my first anniversary as a member, I'm giving you my very best: a male Narcissus flycatcher. Ficedula narcissina is one of the reasons why living on the eastern edge of Eurasia is such a privilege. This species is a pure passage migrant here, only hugging the Chinese coast as it transits from Borneo up to its breeding grounds in Japan and the Russian Far East. When this little guy flew into the copse near a Buddhist temple hard by the East China Sea, I knew he'd be staying awhile, forests being few in the area; and I knew that I'd need the time, because the copse, thick and overgrown, was far from an ideal spot for photography. For two hours the Narcissus refueled right in front of me, quickly getting accustomed to my benign presence. By focusing intently on the bird, and by knowing its habits, I was able to achieve many good shots. I was in Yangkou, a fishing town in Jiangsu, China.

    Device: Nikon D3S
    Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
    Focal Length: 600mm
    Aperture: F/7.1
    Shutter Speed: 1/320
    Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
    Exposure Comp.: none
    ISO Sensitivity: ISO 1600
    Subject Distance: 5.6 m
    Photoshoppery: A branch was impaling my Narcissus, coming in at the throat and exiting at the nape. Using content-aware fill, I performed surgery in Photoshop, and the flycatcher healed up nicely. I used noise-reduction in Photoshop not only to reduce noise but also as a blurring tool. NR covered my content-aware tracks well enough.

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    Super Moderator arash_hazeghi's Avatar
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    nice light and details, I would like to see the rest of the bird in a vert crop.
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  3. #3
    Robert Amoruso
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    Craig,

    I would agree with Arash that a vertical crop with the whole bird, or I would suggest a tighter head and shoulders crop. As posted the crop is awkward and truncates the bird oddly. Nice work on removing distractions in the BG.

    This is a beautiful bird and we look forward to some more images of it. Also, thanks for the natural history information. Always a pleasure to learn about a species.

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    Here's a vertical . . . what do you think?

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    This is one beautiful migrant I hope to see and photograph someday.

    Agree with the comments above.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Itol View Post
    This is one beautiful migrant I hope to see and photograph someday.

    Agree with the comments above.
    Mark, my Field Guide to the Birds of China reports that the Narcissus can also winter in the Philippines.

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    I like the vertical crop better. Well done Craig.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Craig Brelsford View Post
    Mark, my Field Guide to the Birds of China reports that the Narcissus can also winter in the Philippines.
    Yes it has been spotted here by fellow bird photogs 3 times if I remember correctly. I still have to see and photograph one, though.

    The repost looks great.

  9. #9
    Ofer Levy
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    The vertical is the way to go! Nice and sharp image of this beauty!

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    Hi Craig,

    I think the vertical crop is much better too, from the point of view of overall composition, and the view of the whole bird. The bird is beautiful, and very nicely exposed and sharp, but I wonder if there is anything you could do with some of the oof branches that we now see in this version.

    Richard

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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Stern View Post
    Hi Craig,

    . . . I wonder if there is anything you could do with some of the oof branches that we now see in this version.

    Richard
    Hi Richard, the very inaccessibility of the site made it attractive to birds--and difficult for photographers. I did much "Photoshopping in the field," that is, I snapped off many branches just so I could walk around in there. I also cleared away a few possible perches. In the end, even my best shots were "branchy." I suppose that I could re-enter the lab and continue with content-aware fill, but the result would be so far from nature that I'd might as well cut out the flycatcher and paste him onto an artificial BG.

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