Crested Barbet

[Pieter Lotter]

This pic was taken in the Kruger National Park a couple of weeks ago.
Comments and crit would be appreciated.

Canon 40D
Canon Lens 100-400mm at 400mm
f5.6
ISO400
1/800

[RAM MALLYA]

Amazing colors of the bird,HA and the perch . You could have run Noise removal tool on the BG . There is some noise visible in the upper right corner .

[Marina Scarr]

Great BG and angle here. Just love this profile pose. Although I have never before seen this bird (and what an amazing bird), it didn't look right on my monitor. I took it into PS. Although your histogram is not climbing on the right, this capture does appear to have been taken in pretty harsh light and your highlights need to be taken down several notches. I am not seeing much detail in the bird's head. Could you share how much of a crop you have here please?

[Craig Kerr]

I like the pose and composition of this Crested Barbet... Nits covered

[Joe Senzatimore]

Fine perch and beautiful comp. Wonderful looking bird. I am not familiar with this species , so I may be wrong , but the head seems a touch hot???? Love the BG and how well you handled what seems to be harsh light. Well done.

[Arthur Morris]

Killer bird. Nice pose and perch. Light harsh but you can make the image better: try a small reverse S curve to reduce the contrast. Looks a tad over-sharpened as presented but that might be the contrast.... Lots of noise in the URC that could be removed easily. Let me know if you need help with any of the above. Thanks a stack, BTW, for your membership support.

[Herb Houghton]

Nice comp, nice HA and cool colors on this bird. I agree with contrast comments and highlights could be toned down as mentioned. Great BGD in this image.

[Morkel Erasmus]

It was nice meeting you and the missus in the Kruger, Pieter...and good to see you posting some image (I shall expect you over in "Wildlife" pretty soon! )...

Lovely bird, I have yet to get a half-decent shot of one. Love the pose. There have been some good suggestions to improve overall IQ and presentation.

[Pieter Lotter]

Ram; Craig; Joe and Herb - thank you very much for your comments and suggestions . The sun was bright and, yes, you are right about the noise in the URC
Marina - thank you for your comments and unfortunately it was a large crop. Although there is a pair of Crested Barbets thinking of nesting in our garden, I have been unable to get a clear shot and had to go to the Kruger Park to capture one!
Arthur - thank you very much for your comments and good advice. I appreciate it very much and will follow your suggestions.
Hi Morkel - thank you for your comments. It was nice meeting you and your family - especially your beautiful little daughter.

I have gained much from this posting and will try to put it to good use in future.

Pieter

[Raul Padilla]

terrific bird, amazing colors, i agreed with the need for redusing the effects of mid day harsh light, i like more space in front of bird

[Arthur Morris]

Would love to see a repost. :)

[Pieter Lotter]

Here is the re-do of the Crested Barbet which has been prompted by your suggestions.
Arthur, sorry it took a bit of time - due to an internet signal failure late yesterday but mostly because I am still honing my PS skills.
Applied reverse S curve; NR on BG; toned down brightness and contrast on the face area; also toned down bright areas on perch with burn tool; reduced brightness and contrast overall; used sharpening tool on head area; and applied a round of Unsharp mask.

Pieter

[Arthur Morris]

Much improved and a great job on the perch. Did you work on the JPEG or on your master file?

[Pieter Lotter]

Thank you Arthur. I worked on the JPEG.
I must, however, admit that I would not have been able to do the re-do without the assistance and advice of my old friend Pieter de Waal (Swaziland BPN member). He is also responsible for starting me off on bird/wildlife photography.

Pieter

[Arthur Morris]

Thank you Arthur. I worked on the JPEG.
I must, however, admit that I would not have been able to do the re-do without the assistance and advice of my old friend Pieter de Waal (Swaziland BPN member). He is also responsible for starting me off on bird/wildlife photography. Pieter

It is much better to make such changes on your master file. It sounds as if you need to get yourself a copy of our Digital Basics File, a PDF sent via e-mail.