Racquet-Tailed Roller

Gallery: AvianPosted October 6, 2011114 views12 comments

At least I hope this is what it is, my first decent sighting and image.

Taken in Mana Pools,12th September 2011.

Canon 1D MkIV

500mm F4 +1.4X MkII, hand held from open game viewing vehicle

F8, ISO 800, 1/320. EV + 1.33

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on October 6, 2011 at 5:26 AM

A really beautiful bird Ken. Love the comp. Exposure looks good and Iike the perch. Bird is sharp with good detail. The only thing I might do is remove the very small stick that is poking in from the left in the very bottom left corner.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on October 6, 2011 at 9:57 AM

Nice bird and a good crisp image, Ken. I like the composition and bg. To my eye, it looks like you could use a bit of noise reduction.

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

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on October 6, 2011 at 11:21 AM

A great species indeed and well photographed ! BG colors are very pleasant and complement the bird's colors. Agree on the NR - an(other) round wouldn't hurt I guess. Congrats with both the sighting and the image ! Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on October 6, 2011 at 1:27 PM

Amazing feather colors. Nice comp with the flow of the branches. Good job getting detail out of the shadows and dealing with the directional light, well done.

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

Comment posted by Guy Runco on October 6, 2011 at 4:32 PM

Nice shot of a really cool looking bird - I agree with Dennis, a bit of noise reduction on the bg couldn't hurt.

Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments

Comment posted by Graham Brown on October 6, 2011 at 5:12 PM

That's a beautiful bird, beautifully captured. Detail is excellent throughout with lovely pastel colours. I like the way you've processed it keeping it subtle rather than more contrasty. Personally I can't see any noise even in the larger version. Graham

Registered on November 20, 2007, 275 Posts, 1365 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on October 6, 2011 at 11:01 PM

Thanks for your kind comments and suggestions, much appreciated

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on October 7, 2011 at 3:37 AM

A real beauty Ken! Other than drawings in field guides, I'm pretty sure this is the first actual photo of a Racket-Tailed Roller I've seen. Real happy for your encounter and all the more so for you having nailed the shot! :^)

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

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on October 7, 2011 at 10:53 PM

Thanks Ashley, there are three photos by Albert Froneman, in the book "Complete Photographic Guide Birds of Southern Africa" (ISBN 978-1-77007-388-3), this is great because as its title suggests it has photos rather than illustrations.

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on October 9, 2011 at 10:29 AM

Truly lovely with great detail. Nice comp. Colors are very pleasing and pose by the bird is perfect. The larger image has some background noise that would be easy to eliminate.