Senior Portrait

Gallery: AvianPosted March 27, 201291 views3 comments

Another photo from my trip to the local nature area last Friday. Here's a closeup of a pretty mature tom judging by his snood (fleshy appendage from forehead down across the beak) and caruncles (red fleshy globes on neck). So Senior Portait it is. I like this image as it really shows off the breeding condition of this male and there is some nice colors on the feathers from the sun. My nits are I wish I had gotten a little more of the tail and it should have been exposed a little less as there are some hot areas on the caruncles and the feathers. But I'm generally pleased with this shot. This was hand held and it's full frame. I didn't do any processing other than to resize and sharpen for the web. More turkey photos to come as I took a bunch today. Coomments and critiques are welcomed so I can improve. I really appreciate any feedback.

Tech data: Canon 60D with 70-200mm f/4L at 200mm. Exposure was 1/125th at f/7.10 and ISO 800.

Comments

3 comments

Comment posted by Peter Cross on March 27, 2012 at 1:18 AM

Oops. Got the wrong photo attached for the larger version. It's the one from the last post. Sorry about that. Hope you enjoy the smaller one. Anyone know if it's possible to delete and repost?

Registered on April 3, 2010, 271 Posts, 1342 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hansen on March 27, 2012 at 3:39 PM

Nice portrait of this gnarly old tom. It's a tight crop, but I think an even tighter crop, with nothing but turkey showing, would also be interesting. The feather colors and patterns, and unique clumps of feathered areas hold my interest.

Registered on May 5, 2011, 161 Posts, 908 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on March 28, 2012 at 11:19 PM

That is a nice-looking old bird, Peter. I think a vertical crop would be even stronger. An original vertical exposure might have included at least part of the beard, but even a vertical crop of this would make a nice tight portrait.
Hang on to those RAW files. They will come in handy when you get used to some more post processing to fix the bright spots. It's really pretty easy! (Give me a shout when you feel ambitious, and I can probably get you started if you tell me what software you use.)
P.S. If you catch a mistake before there are any comments (including your own) you can delete your post and start again. There will be a "delete" link under the thumbnail until a comment appears.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments