Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
It’s always a challenge for me every time one of these comes in. They are quick, and nervous, and I always consider it a real “feather in my cap” to capture their namesake ruby-crown. They don’t show it to just anybody. Only enemies, and lovers, I read.
Specific Feedback
Cropping? Exposure?
Technical Details
Z9, 180-600 lens, Nikon 1.4 TC, monopod, 1/2500th, f 9.0, 1110mm, ISO 3200, cropped to 2982 x 2210.
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This is definitely the time of year to see it best, Dave, when they’re starting to argue over territory. There was probably another around somewhere. The light looks a bit harsh. If you are using LR you can try selecting the bird (or just use a brush) and raise the shadows and lower highlights a bit to even out the lighting on the bird a bit.
Great catch.
What a sweet little bird. I have never seen one of this kind. He’s giving you quite a lookover.
I agree with @Dennis_Plank about the harshness of the light. And, good suggestion to tame the light.
There seems to be some sort of ghosting behind the bird and perhaps on the perch.
Hi Dave, nice catch of a tough to get bird. They are always on the move. I also see the ghosting that Glenys mentions. It is prevalent behind and below the bird - seems like the back primary feathers were duplicated somehow. Also agree with lowering highlights especially on the bright patch on the bird below the primaries.
The ghosting areas are low opacity cloning errors, from smoothing out the BG. Also there is a hard edge where the clone source ran into an edge, behind and above the tail. There is also a subject selection / masking error between the tail and the primaries.
You should be able to soften the light a bit, maybe needing to resort to a linear profile in raw. I would lighten the dark area at the bottom. Low opacity cloning would probably be good there. This looks like a big crop – I like to do the cloning before cropping to have more source material, but too many branches could limit that strategy. Worth a redo!
