The image that Ally posted last month rekindled my thoughts of Australia. On our last trip to Australia my wife and I spent 3 days in the tablelands of Queensland near Atherton in search of a wild Cassowary. Cassowaries are a strange flightless bird with adults standing over 6 foot and weighing between 130 to 150 pounds. There are less than an estimated 4000 in Australia. They have feet with 3 toes and the center one is made of a tough cartilage type material that is very hard and sharp and some ancient tribes of aboriginals actually fashioned weapons from the center toe. Their defense is to kick out and then up ripping through the target. Their diet is the larger fruits that lay on the forest floor helping to propagate many larger size trees by spreading the seeds. It is the male that incubates the 3 to 4 eggs with the females mating up to 4 times a season.
Shot in a rainforest on our last day in the area with a Canon 7D Mark II, f/5, 1/100 sec, ISO 6400 at 210mm.
Adjusted a few sliders in RAW.
5 comments posted
Pamela Hoaglund
Beautiful portrait of this colorful bird. There appears to be nice detail in the head/eye and neck. I love the blue and orange on his neck. The feathers on the neck are sharp with detail but the focus drops off toward the back of the bird which I feel is ok. My one suggestion would be to tone down the green leaf just above his back, it draws my eye away from the bird. Possibly a vignette to decrease the background and put more focus on the bird. Great find on your last day. Posted: 07/14/2025 01:40:09
Ally Green
That is a very colorful bird and reading your description of it was intriguing. Australia has some very rich flora & fauna. We go there often and there are always interesting subjects to marvel at. The rainforest a perfect habitat for this bird i feel. The crop works well too allowing enough detail in the Cassowary. Agree with Pamela about adding a slight vignette. Posted: 07/16/2025 22:12:39
Mike Cohen
Nice work. I would also either romove or tone down that one leaf protruding from the top center. I've seen this species only to tv. It must have been special to see it in person. Posted: 07/16/2025 23:06:04
Sharon Prislipsky
Some things are are strangely beautiful. I think you achieved perfect depth of field. The feather details are sharp as is the eye. I presume you had muted light from the right allowing us to see the catch light in the bird's eye - very lifelike. I agree with the others about the bright leaf, but otherwise I would not change a thing. Posted: 07/19/2025 18:11:35
Judith Lesnaw
This is a great portrait of a curious bird with an attitude. He pretends to not notice you, while he glances at you sideways. His headgear looks dangerous. I agree with toning down the leaves. Did you crop the original? Posted: 07/23/2025 17:41:55
