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Black Guan
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Black Guan

by Jim DeWitt

Gallery: AvianPosted January 5, 2015102 views6 comments
Olympus E-5, 300mm f2.8, tripod
f5.6, 1/30, ISO400

Another photo from Costa Rica in January 2013. This is a crepuscular species, never out in bright light. ISO 400 is about all the E-5 could go to without unacceptable noise; even this is marginal. This is a big bird, 26 inches long, and I needed the depth of field at f5.6; hence, the slow shutter speed with, I think, a tiny bit of head movement.

Cropped to vertical. Selective sharpening to bird. Noise reduction to background.

C & C, please. Thanks for looking.

Comments

6 comments
Comment posted by keith mitchell on January 6, 2015 at 3:49 AM
Cracking looking bird Jim, little bit soft on the head but it sounds like it was a bit difficult, well done getting the shot.

Keith.
Registered on July 12, 2008, 127 Posts, 1735 Comments
Comment posted by Jerry Austin on January 6, 2015 at 7:24 AM
HJandsome bird. Was not familiar with this species. Pretty good techs for 1/30s. You managed the blacks well. Nice job.
Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments
Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on January 6, 2015 at 10:57 AM
Jim,
Interesting bird, and I think you know it is a little soft. I think this photo would benefit from a crop less tight for pure esthetic rather than technical reasons. Thank you for all your thoughtful sharing. :toast:
Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments
Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on January 6, 2015 at 2:58 PM
Well processed! Agree on the head movement. I think you could have given it a bit more room on the right, if you had it. :smile:
Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Comment posted by Steve Thompson on January 6, 2015 at 8:10 PM
Jim, very cool bird on a nice perch and a super BG too. The sharpness issue is too bad. It sounds like a tough shot.
Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments
Comment posted by Jefferson Silva on January 7, 2015 at 8:44 PM
Pretty beautiful bird, and nice image.
Registered on December 18, 2012, 162 Posts, 975 Comments