Wet Bananaquit+2Reposts

Gallery: AvianPosted January 4, 2011168 views16 comments

Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola)

This little bird was surprised to see me snapping its picture with a flash. it's obviously not looking its best. Bananaquits are a very common bird in Grand Cayman. I photographed this one in the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park. There is a nice large pond in the park. Looks like this bird went bathing and then retired to a shaded, fairly dark area of the bushes to dry out.

It's been awhile since I posted an image from a large crop. So, I'm due: this image is only 2.6 MP. I like the detail that I see here. Also, the full frame original of this image would show the bird as quite small and not be nearly as interesting.

I'm certainly interested in knowing your opinion. All comments welcome.

1D Mark IV, 400 mm f/5.6, 1.4x TC, hand held, 580 EXII : ISO 1000, 1/800 s, f/8.0, 0 EV, 2.8 MP after cropping, usual NR, exposure adjustment, sharpening.

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on January 4, 2011 at 5:24 PM

Steve, the full frame original must be perfectly detailed, because the detail in the larger version of this crop looks great.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on January 4, 2011 at 5:26 PM

Great capture! He looks to be in the market for a hair dryer.

Mike

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on January 4, 2011 at 6:35 PM

Steve, what a wild looking bird. I've never seen such a critter. He looks more akin to a drowned rat

The detail is great, the bird is interesting.

I think if this were mine, I would very carefully darken the bottom of the stem, just slightly, and fade the top--again just slightly.

Nice post, cropped or not.

Carol

Registered on January 18, 2007, 597 Posts, 8062 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on January 4, 2011 at 7:26 PM

Held up to the crop very well. Love the color, wetness and unique look of this photo

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on January 4, 2011 at 7:51 PM

Now that's one unusual shot! Even when birds are wet, I don't think I remember a shot where the feathers are so clumped together like this one. Cute pose and perch to go along with the wet bird.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 513 Posts, 6889 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on January 4, 2011 at 8:52 PM

Steve, this is just great and so unique. The bird reminds me of a jester's costume. Crop held up well. Thanks for posting it.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 4, 2011 at 9:05 PM

The photo held up surprisingly well to the crop and fairly high iso, I guess the skillful post-processing helped to some degree as well. Great pose and unique look on this drenched little bird.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by John Kerr on January 4, 2011 at 9:46 PM

What an ornary looking bird Steve

. Great detail for such a large crop.

Registered on October 28, 2009, 111 Posts, 1070 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 4, 2011 at 10:34 PM

Nice, Steve. I love the pose and the wet plumage. He certainly doesn't look happy to be getting photographed. If the image is sharp to start with, 2.6 MP is plenty of resolution for web posting.

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

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on January 5, 2011 at 8:13 AM

Steve, this is cool. What a subject. Personally I don't use flash on birds, hate to momentarily blind something that flies.

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on January 5, 2011 at 8:19 AM

Love the wet look here Steve, makes the viewer smile..That would be me BTW

Excellent image here

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 5, 2011 at 9:41 AM

what a hilarious looking bird, Steve. he is soaked! love the perch and comp too. looks good at this crop/comp, but would also be successful in a looser comp if you have more of the nice perch and smooth bg--it would help emphasize how little the bird is (or at least looks to me).

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

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on January 5, 2011 at 2:44 PM

Steve, this is fantastic on every level! Love the color, exposure and the detail. The comp just takes this over the top!

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on January 5, 2011 at 3:26 PM

Very funny, the look from this bird is great and the crop held up very well to show enough detail in the larger version, way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on January 5, 2011 at 8:42 PM

Thank you, everyone. I'm so glad that so many of you enjoyed this shot. I must say that I still can't help but laugh every time I look at it. Two of you were kind enough to make comp suggestions. Carol suggested emphasizing the bird with exposure and fading. Brian suggested a crop that allowed us to appreciate more how small is this bird. There are so many ways of implementing these suggestions. Anyway, here are two to give you all an idea of how these suggestions look. This first repost is based on Carol's.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on January 5, 2011 at 8:44 PM

and this one is based upon Brian's:

I like them all!! ....although maybe my leaning is to stick with the original. I like the magnified view and minimal adjustment of exposure. However, both reposts definitely have their strengths. Thank you again everyone.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments