Purple Roller

Gallery: AvianPosted October 30, 2009217 views25 comments

Here´s a portrait of a Purple Roller taken last year at Waterberg Nationa Park in Namibia. This bird was coming into a pot which had been filled with water, along with many other birds. It had dried the next day so I refilled it to keep the birds coming in. The bird was partly in shade and the bg was bright so I used fill flash to darken the bg and bring out the colors in the bird more. I should have cloned out the second catchlight. About 80% of FF.

MkIII 500F4 1.4X 1/250 F8 iso 640, 580ex at -1.3, taken handheld while kneeling in the grass to get low so as not to spook the bird.

Comments

25 comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on October 30, 2009 at 5:32 AM

Nice flash shot Nate. Great details in the head. The BG is nice and compliments the bird's colors.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Kenneth Arni on October 30, 2009 at 7:18 AM

Great detail and colors Nate, love the BG color.

Registered on December 24, 2008, 112 Posts, 629 Comments

Comment posted by Carrie O'Brien-Sib on October 30, 2009 at 9:20 AM

Magnificent, Nate! I've never seen a Purple Roller.

Registered on August 4, 2009, 149 Posts, 889 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on October 30, 2009 at 9:32 AM

Lovely portrait shot, Nate. Looking around the Internet I see plenty of whole bird shots of Purple Rollers (I was curious as to what the rest of the bird looks like) but no portraits. So, the head detail you show in your shot is unusual and very interesting. Two catchlights don't bother me: I guess that you see it as reflecting your flash. However, to the viewer it could be any two sources of light. Great shot, especially easy to appreciate from your description of how you obtained it!

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on October 30, 2009 at 9:55 AM

Stunning colours Nate

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on October 30, 2009 at 9:59 AM

Lovely portrait of a beautiful bird. Must have been neat to see it so close up. The details are awesome. I am sure all the birds appreciated you refilling the water.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on October 30, 2009 at 10:29 AM

Nice portrait, Nate. A good job with the flash-the second catchlight is the only evidence I see of it.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on October 30, 2009 at 10:49 AM

beautiful portrait with great detail, nice bg too and good use of the flash. The focus on the "shoulder" seems somewhat softer than that on the head and back, which surprises me at F8.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on October 30, 2009 at 12:08 PM

Excellent colors, good detail and a fine BG that sets off the bird

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on October 30, 2009 at 1:02 PM

I like this a great deal, Nate.

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on October 30, 2009 at 1:12 PM

Thanks for the comments everyone, Brian it doesn´t surprise me that the dof was not quite enough to get the shoulder sharp. I was very close and the focus was on the eye, I probably needed F11 to get everything tack sharp but was handholding so was somewhat limited there. When handholding that rig I try to keep the shutter speed at 1/250 or higher.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on October 30, 2009 at 2:00 PM

Wow nate, amazing colors and detail

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on October 30, 2009 at 2:41 PM

Beautiful portrait. Wonderful colors.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on October 30, 2009 at 5:36 PM

Nate,

The colors & details are very nice.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Drew Fulton on October 30, 2009 at 6:11 PM

Nate,

I'm so used to seeing the Lilac's that this one shocked me. I really like it. Wish he was turning a little more towards the image but beautiful background, exposure, focus, etc.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 43 Posts, 357 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on October 30, 2009 at 8:59 PM

Nice portrait Nate. Very nice detail. Great use of flash fill.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on October 31, 2009 at 12:21 AM

Awesome colors and terrific detail Nate!

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on October 31, 2009 at 12:55 AM

Nice detail, and fine use of fill flash. I'd like to see a comp that showed a bit more the spectacular chest colors...

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on October 31, 2009 at 5:04 AM

Beautiful job Nate, love that larger version!

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on October 31, 2009 at 5:39 AM

Thanks for the comments, Jim, I don´t think I have any more room on the bottom, so I can´t try that comp.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on October 31, 2009 at 6:57 AM

Detail on the face is excellent. Dazzling color! Nice catch, Nate!

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Ross on October 31, 2009 at 4:53 PM

Great portrait of a great looking bird Nate.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 403 Posts, 2729 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Mason on November 1, 2009 at 2:25 PM

Wonderful close up! I do hope you post more of this stunning bird.

Registered on December 14, 2005, 399 Posts, 2305 Comments

Comment posted by Sue Eberhart on February 2, 2010 at 10:47 PM

The crop really caught my eye and then when I noticed the magnificent colors, the glint in the eye and the details in the feathers, I had to stop and write a comment.

Registered on June 9, 2009, 44 Posts, 208 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on February 3, 2010 at 2:29 AM

Excellent closeup - very crisp, also like that warm background.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments