Resplendant Quetzal

Gallery: AvianPosted January 27, 2013297 views13 comments

Olympus E-5, 300mm x 2.0 TC, tripod
f5.7, 1/20, ISO400

I have never found a Resplendant Quetzal in conditions that made for a decent photo. Bad light, backlit and moving in the breeze. But perhaps this shot gives you a sense of how extraordinarily beautiful this species is.

Reduced the background levels a bit. Some sharpening but in most places the motion blur is significant. The E-5 just isn't any good at anything over ISO400.

C & C, please. Thanks for looking.

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Marlise Launstein on January 27, 2013 at 6:57 PM

Beautiful! I love the sharpness, his pose, and I love all the colors! Great image!

Registered on August 31, 2011, 28 Posts, 175 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 27, 2013 at 8:10 PM

GREAT that you found the quetzal!! Not your best image by far, but surely a worthwhile image. Sounds as if you're having an exceptional trip!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on January 27, 2013 at 8:21 PM

Looks like you got the whole thing in the shot. Could be a bit sharper, but I would take this one any day Very cool, Jim.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on January 27, 2013 at 9:44 PM

A remarkable species, nice capture.

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

Comment posted by Bill Marsh on January 27, 2013 at 10:06 PM

Love the pose sharpness and colors. Beautiful bird. Great shot!

Registered on December 29, 2012, 21 Posts, 225 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 28, 2013 at 7:33 AM

beautiful bird, Jim, and while I might reduce exposure on the bright areas above and around the bird, I do like the setting. I like your comp a lot too, on a bird that is certainly difficult to compose. It's a shame it isn't sharper, but when you have to shoot at 1/20, that's an awful lot to ask.

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 28, 2013 at 12:24 PM

Beautiful bird indeed, Jim, and well captured given the limitations of the situation. Maybe you should rent one of those fancy Nikon's for Costa Rica.

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

Comment posted by Max Waugh on January 28, 2013 at 12:35 PM

At least you got it out in the open, Jim. I'm hoping to see my first one in less than two weeks, and if they're visible like this I'll be pretty pleased. Given the conditions, I think you did pretty well. It's a bit tight vertically, but I don't know how much room you had to maneuver. A friend went to Savegre and couldn't fit the whole bird in the frame with his 500, so I know there's not always a lot of flexibility out there.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on January 28, 2013 at 3:02 PM

A beautiful bird nicely captured in it's entirety among great habitat. I would be tempted to clone out some of those brighter spots in the background.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on January 28, 2013 at 4:29 PM

Wow. Nice job under tough conditions, Jim. What a beautiful bird, wonder if it snags that tail in the jungle?

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Verdon on January 28, 2013 at 5:03 PM

wow what a beauty, love the colors and pose, simply nailer!!!

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on January 29, 2013 at 2:37 AM

Certainly does Jim - I can only dream

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Graham Brown on January 29, 2013 at 12:10 PM

I can appreciate what you're saying about the beauty of the bird. I like the strong colours throughout and I still think it was worth taking. I'm not the only one afraid of using above iso4oo- a bit restrictive though isn't it. Graham

Registered on November 20, 2007, 275 Posts, 1365 Comments