Kingfisher

Pretty fantastic, Bill. A little more room at the top for me. Also, seems could be a slight touch brighter. Great pose and detail.

Hello Charlie

Yes more head room would have been great, but that's it. A very small crop from the left side where the stick is coming from and bottom small amount. The whites on his throat are my concern about global brightness .

Appreciate your feedback.

Bill

Looks like you nailed it, Bill. I do agree with Charlie about adding a touch of canvas to the top.

WOW, there certainly has been some fantastic kingfisher posts recently, add this one to the group. Very well done.

Love the pose with the crest up. The larger version shows how nice the detail is. The neck white look on the verge if they haven't clipped already. Not surprising given how dark the BG is. Shadow / Highlight would open the Kingfisher up more, but may leave your whites looking a little gray. I think I'd still give it a try and then add a mask on the layer to block out the effect on the white to keep them where they are if they did get dingy looking. Super capture on a skittish critter.

This just seems to be one of those birds I never get tired of viewing (snowy owls are another) and I have only seen a few in my area. I might experiment with a lighter background and tone down the hot spot on the neck. I like the pose and perch and this is a difficult contrast shot, good job in getting such a nice close view of this kingfisher.

Bill,
Fantastic!! He's even looking your way and the feather detail is very nice. Superb background. Beautiful soft light. Little more room at the top would help as others have noted. Cheers!!

I am envious! The one time I got this close, I shot 10 frames at 1\50th of a second—with the VR off! Blurry rejects, every one.

The two issues discussed are minor, though certainly there. Both are easily resolved. The highlights are not over gamut, at least not on my monitor, but they probably are close and would have noticeably more detail by dropping them back 5% or 10%. I would recommend Tony Kuyper's luminance masks, which are just excellent for that kind of work.

Very nice Bill. A shot this spot on of a Kingfisher is something to be proud of. Way to go.

Love it! Amazing detail in the feathers of the kingfisher! I think a tad more room on the top would help, but I really do mean just a little!

Great pose Bill - a little more room at the top if you've got any spare??? - if not you could probably add some

This image was captured a few seasons ago on a pond (that I had excavated), a Vernal pond with a small island of land left into the center area. It dries up each season around August and starts to fill up as the rains start here in September , by late September the pond is mostly full and will freeze up full in November. The Kingfishers will stay until late October or until all the frogs and small fish are gone. They are still around each season because I can hear them chattering as they fly by. but not always at my pond . Haven't had them visit me now for several years but hoping they may entertain me again this upcoming springtime!:)
This image is pretty well full-frame and NO room at top. The image was underexposed some at time of capture . Back then I was very aware of the ISO settings and tried Very hard to get it down to 100-200 when possible. Sometimes as this one was underexposed then. The slow shutter speed used would turn out mostly ok, while perched. but small wing movements and head movements were a constant challenge...... Now with newer technolgy and cameras that handle ISO better All I require is for the Kingfisher to appear!!!!

thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it!!

Bill

Love the KF, great pose!
Canvas can be added on the top n you may align the top corner of the perch instead of bottom corner.
Jagdeep Rajput

I like this one a lot Bill. I do agree with the two nits mentioned and I personally think this is an image worth making some changes. It will take a very nice image and send it over the top. Nice work

Excellent Capture Bill! Great pose of this studly looking guy!

Hello Guys

Not sure how to Add Canvas at Top?

My PS6 skills are Very Basic.....

But, Really appreciate your Critiques and Positive feedback.

Bill