Emerald Toucanet

[Peter Dexter]

Photographed in Valle De Cauca department, Colombia near a banana feeding board.

Manual Exposure
TV 1/500
Av 6.3
ISO 640
Focal Length 400mm
Flash

[Randy Stout]

Peter:

What an amazing bill this fellow has. Nice that you were able to get a clean shot at the head and torso.

The flash helped bring out the colors, but the usual concerns about really lighting up foreground elements that you don't necesairly want to highlight. I would consider burning in the brighter areas of foliage to keep our eye on the bird.


Some subtle cropping could also reduce the impact of the foliage.

Cheers

Randy

[Peter Dexter]

Thank you. Those are good suggestions.

[gail bisson]

Great looking bird! I like his pose and HA. I would crop some off the left. Would also consider burning the leaves at bottom of the frame as they are quite lit up from the flash. I like the vertical comp. Did you shoot this a s a vertical?
Gail

[Peter Dexter]

Gail no. I cropped it to verticle. In the below image I've cropped a little and burned the leaves some. I also burned an area in the upper right of his chest and dodged a bit of his crown. Over done? Under done? What do you think?

[gail bisson]

The leaves and chest look good. I would still crop a bit more off right ( I made a mistake in my earlier post where I said left. I meant RIGHT side!)
Gail

[Peter Dexter]

Ok thank you. I'm glad you both mentioned burning since I've just started using flash and imagine that over illuminated areas will be a frequent issue.

[Arthur Morris]

Welcome Peter. A very nice bird and sharp but with lots of problems as mentioned above. The biggest problem is the cluttered messy setting with white-wash covered bent and broken leaves and white holes in the background. Suggestion: if you have some control over the banana board move it out of the jungle to a spot with an even-toned distant background. Set up a perch or two near the board. If you stay back for a while the birds will come and you can begin to make some quality images.... I've done it in Panama and I am sure it would work in Columbia.

[Peter Dexter]

Thank you Arthur. Actually this image and a couple of others were the only time the Toucanet has come near the banana board which is intended to draw Tanagers. There are no bird droppings, the leaves are discolored by molds or something. The area is at 2100m in chilly cloud forest and new foliage doesn't stay "clean" very long. I may indeed try a banana board in another location with open back ground in hopes that the two Toucanet species present will visit.

[Arthur Morris]

Good luck and thanks for the explanation. Bird droppings or not the setting is not the most pleasing :).