Jewels of Nature

Gallery: AvianPosted June 1, 2011184 views31 comments

Canon EOS 7D, EF 500mm f/4L IS USM, Aperture Priority, f/4 (1/80 sec), ISO 640, 0 EV, JPG from RAW, Cropped About 60% from Full Frame

Subject: Scarlet-Rumped Trogon

Location: Kinabatangan River, Sukau, Sabah, Bornean Malaysia

Situation: Came across this beauty while drifting silently along one of the tributaries off the main river. I'd seen them before on my last trip but had far better opportunities with them this time.

Needless to say, I would have much preferred this one without that unfortunate piece of OOF twig hanging down on the left, but if you can picture yourself in my position on the river at the time, desperately trying to get at least one sharp image of this exquisitely coloured bird before it shot off deeper into the jungle, you'll probably be able to appreciate why I'm not all that bothered by it ;^)

I'd be interested to know though whether any of you might have tried to clone that part of the twig out.

Thoughts, comments, and suggestions always welcome :^)

P.S. While trying to capture this Trogon I kept thinking how much I'd love to dedicate one of the best shots to Nate, as I know how much he appreciates them; so this one's for you buddy :^)

Comments

31 comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on June 1, 2011 at 11:08 PM

Ashley, When I first saw the thumbnail, all I saw was the bird. When I went to the larger image, I was just amazed at the detail you have captured in the bird. Not until I read you comments did I notice the OOF twig. I think I would leave it in. The curve of the twig seems to go along with the curve on the lower portion of the bird. I like it the way it is, IMO.

Harry

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on June 1, 2011 at 11:22 PM

Nice, Ashley. I'm glad that you resisted the urge to clone. Beautiful colors, and nice to see the whole bird so sharp.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on June 1, 2011 at 11:23 PM

Thanks Ashley, looking at the thumbnail I was just thinking "that's one gorgeous trogon that I've yet to see" Great image too the colors just sing and the detail and sharpness look excellent despite the slower shutter speed.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on June 1, 2011 at 11:27 PM

No question about it - your best! I am very glad you did not attempt to clone out that OOF twig. Trogons from SE Asia are one of my favourite birds; I don't have one as good as this - well done, Ashley!

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on June 1, 2011 at 11:38 PM

Ashley, another jewel! I didn't even know trogans were found in Asia. Great image, no cloning needed. Thanks for sharing and the BG to the shot.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on June 1, 2011 at 11:52 PM

Wow, now there's some color! Gorgeous bird, very well captured. The twig on the left is perfectly fine...single-stick bird shots seem to have become the norm for some reason, but I'm glad you left it as is, and didn't try cloning out the twig.

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

Comment posted by David Williams on June 1, 2011 at 11:54 PM

What a beautiful bird and shot, Ashley! The head turn and detail are perfect.......very nicely done!

Registered on March 8, 2005, 315 Posts, 2291 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on June 2, 2011 at 12:18 AM

Excellent colours and nice pose!
I'll go against the grain herev - I'd sure try it without the OOF branch - or at least darken it a lot. As is, it really competes for attention, imo.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on June 2, 2011 at 1:37 AM

A fantastic look at the various colors and patterns in the plumage. The branch might make the overall frame imperfect, but it doesn't detract from the bird itself.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Holguin on June 2, 2011 at 2:52 AM

What a beautiful bird and you have captured it so well. Great pose, lovely background, and great colors. Removing the oof branch greatly add to the appeal of the image. Its not a real bother some but worth removing imo. Other than that superb shot.

Registered on January 25, 2011, 44 Posts, 294 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on June 2, 2011 at 5:49 AM

Incredible colours on this one. Great picture.
The twig does catch the eye a bit but the birds colours drag your eyes back.
JohnR

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by Joe Vincent on June 2, 2011 at 6:01 AM

This is terrific Ashley. Great job keeping the sharpness and detail with a low shutter speed and I'm glad you didn't clone out the twig.

Registered on August 16, 2005, 69 Posts, 792 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on June 2, 2011 at 6:40 AM

Oh Ashley, you're certainly whetting the appetite with these images - superb. I reckon I'd have a go at removing the oof twig, just for the heck, and see whta happens.
At this stage it looks like we'll be in Thailand for about three weeks from about Oct 23ish onwards.

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on June 2, 2011 at 7:51 AM

Gorgeous colors n beautiful bird !!!
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on June 2, 2011 at 8:37 AM

Wow! What a stunning bird. Sure, in a perfect world, that OOF twig wouldn't be there, but you took full advantage of the situation and captured a fantastic, sharp image of this trogon. Really nice. Any of us would be proud to have this in our files.!!

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on June 2, 2011 at 9:21 AM

Thank you very much Harry, Charlie, Nate - particularly pleased YOU like this ;^) - Kwan, John, Terry, David, Sandy, Max, Robert, John, Joe, Rob, Jagdeep, and Keith :^)

Sandy, Robert & Rob: I spent the better part of the past half an hour (at least!) trying to create a new version minus that part of the twig, but I'm afraid my skills with such work is not yet up to the task, and to post the best of what I managed to do would be something of an embarrassment to me, so please forgive me if I don't ;^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by David Sparks on June 2, 2011 at 11:32 AM

Magnificent bird, beautifully captured.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Huff on June 2, 2011 at 12:22 PM

IMO it is a excellent photo with twig there. Wow you really did a nice job on this one!!! BEAUTIFUL!

Ron Huff

Registered on August 31, 2010, 69 Posts, 440 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on June 2, 2011 at 3:42 PM

Nothing short of stunning, Ashley. Congrats on making the image.
I've read the comments, at first not quite believing those who say don't remove the oof twig, because I figured I sure would. But then what? You'd be left with a branch that runs across the frame with no anchor at all possible. Bad idea. The image stands on it's merits anyway.

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

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on June 2, 2011 at 6:23 PM

Spectacular bird well captured. Stick doesn't detract.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on June 2, 2011 at 7:43 PM

Excellent, Ashley. I might try cloning that twig out, since it's so bright-it does tend to draw my attention from the bird.

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

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on June 2, 2011 at 8:00 PM

The bird is spectacular Ashley. Personally I wouldn't even consider cloning the OOF branch. Ideally it wouldn't be there but it is. At least the curve of the branch mimics the contour of the bird and makes it less distracting to my eye.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on June 2, 2011 at 9:59 PM

This is likely my favorite image that you have posted to date. Beautiful colors. Great detail and a magnificent subject. I like the comp you have chosen. I wouldn't worry about the branch. But, if you DID want it gone, I would clone over the entire left side of the image that has the branch, then clone back in the branch that the bird is perching on. You could clone some of the perching branch on the right side of the bird and carefully move it over to the left, not repeating anything recognizable (i.e. a highlighted area or "bump" on the branch) You probably have some left over background and possibly perch not appearing in this image that you could use.

Hope that made sense to you.

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

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on June 2, 2011 at 11:19 PM

Many thanks David, Ron H, Wayne, Simon, Dennis, Ron D, and Angela for your kind words of appreciation :^)

Angela: Thanks also for your great suggestions on how I might be able to make a better job of cloning the twig in question out should I wish to give it another shot :^)

Having said that, I have so many others things I'm trying to get done right now I'd be hard put finding more time to work on this again, perhaps at a later date though, at which time I'd certainly be looking to follow your advice :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Leekam on June 3, 2011 at 11:29 AM

Superb color in this stunning bird. The twig doesn't bother me in the least.

Registered on May 28, 2009, 83 Posts, 646 Comments

Comment posted by Neal Cooper on June 3, 2011 at 12:48 PM

Ahley. Beautiful bird. My eye is drawn towards the bird's eye and am not put off by the twig. Very nice and sharp at such low shutter speed. I like it

Registered on June 3, 2009, 144 Posts, 306 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on June 3, 2011 at 6:26 PM

What a beautiful trogon! Nice job in getting this and i would just leave the branch alone, my eyes go right for the colorful bird. Half the fun is just getting a good look at these wonderful birds and a good image is icing on the cake. Well done.