Michael Weatherford
May 2023 - Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Original
About the Image(s)
This photo was shot at a private nature reserve in the cloud forest near Mindo, Ecuador. The owner constructed an observation platform on the deck overlooking the property. With much apprehension I climbed to the top of that 30-foot rickety thing. As I sat there holding on for dear life, I spotted this Dusky-capped Flycatcher with a dragonfly it had caught. He beat it on the limb a few times to soften it up before swallowing. I used a Nikon Z6ii with the Z 400mm F4.5 lens, plus the 1.4X extender, giving me 560mm. 1/400 second with lens wide open at f6.3. ISO 200. As usual, I did a lot of processing on the image. My usual Lightroom workflow which includes cropping, masking out the subject and background and processing them separately. I play with the sliders until I get something that I think is beautiful. I'm including the original. Too much processing? I don't know, I'm just an amateur.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
10 comments posted
Wow, not a good day to be a dragonfly! I don't know if it's overprocessed, but since the photo looks realistic (to me) and quite detailed with a good bokeh I wouldn't worry, but don't listen to me -- I'm not only an amateur, I'm a new amateur! That looks like a lot of cropping to me, but you lost nothing in the crop -- that must be what the Nikon mirrorless cameras can do when it's in good hands. Posted: 05/03/2023 20:00:33
At first glance this looks lovely--kudos. Then I looked at the original and I came up with a question? They aren't the same image are they?? In the original the bird's head is facing more to the left and not as much toward the camera as is shown in the submitted version and the dragonfly wings are displayed differently. This doesn't really matter in this forum but if it was submitted in a competition it would be disqualified. The only reason I noticed was because I do not know this this species and when I looked at the original I noted the top of the head was darker--looking more "dusky" than in the displayed image.
Now just looking at the displayed image this is really quite nice. It has a strong nature story (bird and prey). The bird is sharp, but not over sharp and as a subject it is well separated from the background. The background is soft (out of focus) and has only been darkened a little bit so that it still looks natural. If I wanted to nit-pic I would note that there are a few bright areas on the right in the background but they are not so bad that they distract. Thus this is a truly exceptional image and well not. Nice job. Posted: 05/04/2023 12:12:12
Now just looking at the displayed image this is really quite nice. It has a strong nature story (bird and prey). The bird is sharp, but not over sharp and as a subject it is well separated from the background. The background is soft (out of focus) and has only been darkened a little bit so that it still looks natural. If I wanted to nit-pic I would note that there are a few bright areas on the right in the background but they are not so bad that they distract. Thus this is a truly exceptional image and well not. Nice job. Posted: 05/04/2023 12:12:12
Darn, I should have known you would notice. I processed the original so used another image from the same series of shots, just to give an idea of how much processing I did. Not that I'm proud of that. Anyway, a fella can't get away with anything in this group! ;) Posted: 05/04/2023 17:25:06
Yep, ha, ha. I really like your finished version, Michael. It's a great capture and everything about it is just fine. You shouldn't have included the other... 😉 Posted: 05/04/2023 18:04:53
Michael the bird really reminds me of a Great Crested Flycatcher we have here in the states. It also reminds me of the Great Kiskadee I saw in Costa Rica. I like the shot, Michael. It's sharp and the composition is very good as well. It's always a great story when the subject has dinner in its mouth. I like the bokeh in the background. I am going to pretend I didn't see Larry's reply about the original image. I added a picture of the Great Crested Flycatcher from here. See if you think they look alike? Posted: 05/04/2023 18:43:41
Hey, how come this bird is facing the wrong way? :-) Posted: 05/04/2023 20:50:41
Gee Richard, as Larry pointed out your bird is facing the wrong way to be a Dusky-capped Flycatcher. They always face to the right. Except in the Northern Hemisphere in which case they do face to the left. Therefore I must conclude that if my bird was in the Northern Hemisphere it could well be a Great-crested Flycatcher. Being an experienced birder, you should know this! Posted: 05/14/2023 17:34:02
Maybe we could get the folks in Ecuador to change their naming to the real name of the bird. HAHA Posted: 05/18/2023 07:23:14
Really nice capture of the bird with its prey. I like the pose you selected to process, with the bird looking toward us and the dragonfly prominent. Your processing looks natural.
My only suggestion is to crop this a bit more from the right, to more of a square format. I just don't find that the extra space is helpful particularly since it's "busy" with light and dark areas.
Congrats on conquering the rickety tower- I've climbed a few of those and been almost too scared to take any pictures from them! Posted: 05/09/2023 14:04:40
My only suggestion is to crop this a bit more from the right, to more of a square format. I just don't find that the extra space is helpful particularly since it's "busy" with light and dark areas.
Congrats on conquering the rickety tower- I've climbed a few of those and been almost too scared to take any pictures from them! Posted: 05/09/2023 14:04:40
Michael,
I love this image! You've captured bird and prey!! The bird is sharp and the background is nicely blurred. Well done. Not over processed at all. My only suggestion would be to darken some of the bright spots on the right side of the poto so that our attention is on the bird. Posted: 05/13/2023 09:56:58
I love this image! You've captured bird and prey!! The bird is sharp and the background is nicely blurred. Well done. Not over processed at all. My only suggestion would be to darken some of the bright spots on the right side of the poto so that our attention is on the bird. Posted: 05/13/2023 09:56:58