Blue-bellied Roller

Gallery: AvianPosted November 3, 2011262 views8 comments

I went back and reworked this image from May of 2010 at the San Antonio Zoo open air "walk through" aviary. This bird's native to Western & Central Africa..
Recomposed from a 2:3 vertical to this 4:5 ratio.
I brought up the birds blue belly and reduced brightness at the head using the Nik Selective Tool. I also removed a small branch that ran behind the birds head.
F/8, 1/1000th, ISO 400, 1D M3, 300mm f/2.8 @ 4:20PM clear and sunny using a monopod for support. No flash.

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on November 3, 2011 at 11:23 AM

You managed very well the strong light on this one, Howard- The detail is excellent, as your composition choice- Very well done, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on November 3, 2011 at 11:26 AM

Lovely bird and your processing and composition makes for a great photo.

Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on November 3, 2011 at 1:09 PM

Great bird, colors and setting. You managed well with the post processing ! Grtz, Hans

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

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on November 3, 2011 at 3:27 PM

Excellent image Howard. love the habitat and how well the bird stands out.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on November 3, 2011 at 6:37 PM

At first I thought you'd been on a long trip. Looks good for a zoo photo - I never would have guessed.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on November 3, 2011 at 6:45 PM

Howard, An interesting subject and I think your work on the belly and head look good. I also like your 4:5 comp and sharpness looks good. I enjoy the setting though I do wish I could see more of the tail.

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

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on November 3, 2011 at 10:14 PM

Oh what a beautiful bird! After Sunbirds, Rollers are my favourite family, so it's a real delight to see a species I was previously completely unaware of, thank you so much for sharing this wonderful picture with us Howard :^)

Do you happen to know which country the Blue-Bellied Roller is native to?

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

Comment posted by Steve Balke on November 4, 2011 at 12:14 PM

Pretty bird with an unusual shape and colors, Howard. You did a beautiful processing job on the bird. However, you might want to consider the comp a bit more. As is, quite a bit of the image is OOF vegetation. Also, the degree of OOF is just enough to make me wish that it was in focus. A closer crop and additional blurring of bg vegetation would help I think. You could try lowering the exposure on the lower rh corner: I would like the tail being hidden by dark vegetation more than by OOF vegetation. Anyway, great lookin bird!

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