Great Kiskadee

[Alan Murphy]

Great Kiskadee

Hidalgo Co, TX

D3, 600, ISO 1250, f5.6, 1/500, -0.3EV.

If you want to see how I created this image, check out my blog. http://alanmurphyphotography.com/blog/

[clknight]

I believe the only thing it's lacking is some brightening around the eye.

Fantastic capture!

[Krijn Trimbos]

I am packing up my gear and starting a new hobby! This is just no fun anymore....

What else to say than perfect shot! The spread wings, HT, colours, sharpness and detail are al excuisite! You're the man!

[Morkel Erasmus]

what a stunning pose, composition and lovely colours Alan. agree on brightening the eye and I would maybe add the slightest sliver of space on the right?

[Daniel Ruscitto]

Great capture. Head angle, position of bird, clean background. Very well done.

[Zoltan Kovacs]

The moment,colors,sharpness and comp EXCELLENT!! Fantastic shot, Congrats!

[Jean Chang]

Alan,

I looked at your blog on how you did this, and I'm speechless. I just can't get over the stunning shots you get, and so consistently.

I'm curious--how long do you actually have to wait in the blind after putting up a new perch? Hours? Minutes? I bought an Ameristep "Outhouse" blind, and I'm looking forward to using it this spring, and putting some of the info from your great CD into practice. I'm just wondering if the birds aren't spooked for too long after you make changes, or if I'm going to have to pack an overnight case to do this. LOL

Jean

[Todd Frost]

Another stunner Alan. Agree on brightening eye area. Colors and bg are fantastic. TFS
Todd

[Joe Senzatimore]

Can only say "WOW"!!!!!!!!!

[Alfred Forns]

Big Time Congrats on this one Murph !!! Has a big Wow factor ! Would only like seeing the eye area a little litter so it would be visible !!!

[adrian dancy]

Oh this is one peach of a shot. It ticks all the boxes for me. What a superb bird to be able to photograph: however I run against the tide in regard to brightening up the eye. It seems clear enough for me and looks natural. If anything the specular highlight looks added and I rather suspect that the dimmer crescent shaped highlight is all that there is on the original, but of course, I may be wrong? Either way a terrific flight shot of the highest quality which I hope gets to reach a wider audience by publication. Good luck if you choose that route.

Adrian

[arash_hazeghi]

Excellent wing position colors and BG. A very tough shot to get!!! would just brighten the eye area a bit. TFS

[Alan Murphy]

Alan,

I looked at your blog on how you did this, and I'm speechless. I just can't get over the stunning shots you get, and so consistently.

I'm curious--how long do you actually have to wait in the blind after putting up a new perch? Hours? Minutes? I bought an Ameristep "Outhouse" blind, and I'm looking forward to using it this spring, and putting some of the info from your great CD into practice. I'm just wondering if the birds aren't spooked for too long after you make changes, or if I'm going to have to pack an overnight case to do this. LOL

Jean

Hey Jean,

When doing set-ups in a new area, expect a couple of days for the birds to find the food. In this situation, I did my setups where food had been set out every day for years, so when I got out of the blind to make an adjustment, it only took about 3 minutes for the birds to come back. This is why I choose these kind of places to do my workshops.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Outstanding image Alan. Eye is fine for me. Love the diagonal framing.

[Fernando Cerra]

You leave nothing to chance, and here are the results, an image that is one step ahead of the rest.

[Callie de Wet]

Still looking for my lower jaw . . . Shows me again that the biggest room in the worls is the room for improvement, and I still have some way to go! Just love this image!

[Mark Dumbleton]

Awesome image Alan! Lovely BG, pose and detail on the bird! Also wish the eye was a tad lighter.

[paul leverington]

Sweet Alan! I think it would have been nice to be at F8 maybe to pick up a little more variation in the BG but I see from the data you were already at a bit of a stretch. Awesome wing position and great dynamic line throught the same. Thank you for sharing your methodolgy for the shot.

Paul

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Alan, more than anything else, I like the strong diagonal composition. awesome wing position.

[Bryan Hix]

Stunning action. Yellows are so tricky, and you nailed them on this one. Can't wait until it warms up in the midwest to start using some of your setups from the E-book.

[Arthur Morris]

Alan,

I looked at your blog on how you did this, and I'm speechless. I just can't get over the stunning shots you get, and so consistently.

I'm curious--how long do you actually have to wait in the blind after putting up a new perch? Hours? Minutes? I bought an Ameristep "Outhouse" blind, and I'm looking forward to using it this spring, and putting some of the info from your great CD into practice. I'm just wondering if the birds aren't spooked for too long after you make changes, or if I'm going to have to pack an overnight case to do this. LOL

Jean

Jean, Where did you purchase the blind? Do you have a link?

[Jean Chang]

I got it from Midway USA.
http://www.midwayusa.com/Search/#blind____-_1-2-4_8-16
It can be put up and taken down literally in seconds. Taking it down is a little tricky, but once you know how to do it, it takes about 5 seconds.

[Juan Aragonés]

This one is just fantastic Alan. I would consider the possibility of lightening the eye a bit more. Superb image

[Jeff Parker]

Why does everyone want to lighten the eye? This is what they look like.

[Arthur Morris]

Why does everyone want to lighten the eye? This is what they look like.

Not exactly. When you properly expose for the white highlights the middle tones are technically rendered one stop under and the dark tones are rendered close to two stops under. You can take care of the middle tones with a Curves or Levels adjustment but the eye is so small that it is better to lighten the iris a bit using a Quick Mask and Control M (Curves on a Layer)