DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 
Challenge Entries
This image is not a part of any challenge.
Portfolio Images
This image is not part of a public portfolio.
Amethyst Sunbird I v1 (PAW 2/52)
Amethyst Sunbird I v1 (PAW 2/52)
HarveyG


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Sigma 100-300mm F/4.0 EX IF HSM for Nikon
Location: Assegay, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
Aperture: 6.3
ISO: 1600
Shutter: 1/800
Galleries: Birds
Date Uploaded: Jan 10, 2013

Viewed: 254
Comments: 22
Favorites: 0

 This male Amethyst Sunbird is extremely tiny and very elusive (in the wild) and due his predominantly black feathers, stays out of the sunlight like the plague making accurate overall exposure WITH feather detail very challenging. After spotting them I tracked the mating pair around for a week till I got some usable images. I will add the female next week :)
Wild Bird photography is not for the easily disheartened.

I prefer to portray an animals environment with the shot as this provides scale and interest. They are so small that even with a telephoto (my 300/450mm or my 500/750mm) I have to be within a few (2) meters to get them occupying 50% of the frame. This male would not let me get closer than about 5 meters. One of the reasons why I recently acquired a near new D7000 which has 33% more pixels and a higher pixel density per mm² than my D90/D300s. Naturally the 1.5x crop factor when using full frame glass on DX (APS-C) sensor helps too.

Whilst it is all to easy to attract them with sugar water feeders I do not like the hand of man in my wildlife images, actual or implied eg: A hummer photographed just hovering but no flower ahead of him/her implies a feeder to me. No feeders or other tricks are used to attract my birds.

This is a lifer for me (1st sighting of this species) and I hope you enjoy my portrayal of him.

Any comment or critique complimentary or critical are most welcome.

Note post the wonderful comments below: I am very light handed when it comes to sharpening and Post Processing. In this instance I did more adjustments on exposure balance and colour than any on sharpening. I find that when I mask my subject and DeNoise the BG the grain there disappears and the immediate "over-sharpened" reaction falls away. I did not mask and DeNoise this image and thus the grain remains in the BG.

This image is © copyrighted 2013 by Harvey Grohmann. Duplication, publication, copying is strictly forbidden and protected by law. To obtain pricing and consent contact me via Photocommission.com

for Photograph a Week 2013

Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
 01/21/2013 01:12:31 PM
Great capture of bird's unique color - very nice shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/17/2013 11:34:17 PM
Even though the bird is dark, I love that it just jumps out of the photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/13/2013 08:36:09 PM
Fascinatingly natural image that's appropriately amplified by your informative description. Knowing the difficulties of of such a shot I'm not bothered by the grain or minor sharpening artifacts.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/13/2013 12:44:40 PM
I really like love the composition of this the bird in its native habitat, doing his natural birdy stuff. Watch the edge sharpening around the bird. It was the first thing I noticed when I opened the page. The problem is that the body of the bird and the edges of the bird almost always need different amounts of sharpening. What I find myself doing over and over is sharpening the bird a lot, to get the definition in the feathers, then using a mask and black brush to brush back the sharpening around the edges of the bird. The more contrast the bird has with the background, the more necessary this seems to be.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/13/2013 06:48:41 AM
A wonderful image - the darkness of these guys makes them very hard to get details, and you have done a very good job to both set the environment as well as give is the details of the eyes and splashes of color. well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/12/2013 10:44:13 AM
Originally posted by Enlightened:
From his intense look I don't imagine he stayed there very long. Thanks Tracey! A few seconds to a minute in the same spot, mostly a few soeconds but constantly hopping about. Any movement on my part and he's gone for at least another hour.
01/12/2013 09:49:48 AM
Wow, this is quite the capture! Thank you for the information about this bird. I am looking forward to seeing the female as well. You are very patient tracking them for a week but I can imagine the excitement you felt while watching them. From his intense look I don't imagine he stayed there very long.

  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/12/2013 07:08:03 AM
Originally posted by HarveyG:
Originally posted by bsluijk:
The one thing that strikes me from a technical point is the white outline around the bird and the leaves. This could be from back-lighting, but I guess this is a sharpening artifact, which for me is a bit of a letdown in an otherwise very nice image. The leaves have a hairy outer rim. Light was late afternoon but filtered through the foliage. A small amount of sharpening was done (for Web) and it may have emphasised that. I'll keep an eye in future. Thanks for pointing it out!


Not that I am an expert, but I know the plant :-). I think the white on the leaves that are in focus is definitely the edge/hairs on the plant and not an artifact. If I recalll correctly, even to the human eye that edge is light when seen ... "edge on" (is that a word?)

There is some other white artefact as well, perhaps you could get rid of that with DeNoise, don't know. If you use Topaz, there is a slider for "articaft" in the denoise, I would try that one.

For me personally the biggest problem with this picture is the lack of detail in the black feathers. I hear what you say .... :-), as a photograph of the bird I would still like to see more detail.
I like the way you included the plant and I would think, exposing to get detail into the black plumage would probably overexpose the plant ... catch 22 :-)

Congrats on "stalking" him for a week :-) - very patient you are.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/12/2013 03:37:02 AM
You're doing a great job, compositions great, there's balance, colour and the scene has an implied dialogue to it. Perhaps you could post up some links to the larger versions as well to get around the dp dimension limitations.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/11/2013 09:08:43 AM
Excellent...Congrats on the capture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/11/2013 02:31:27 AM
Originally posted by Abra:
I feel it may be slightly over sharpened. Possibly an effect of the web sharpening during 800px and 300kb reduction.
The splash of purple on the bird (which is why, I'm sure, it has Amethyst in its name - smart, ain't I) Correct and well observed. They have an emerald cap (partially visible here and pink/rose neckline.
01/11/2013 02:21:54 AM
Originally posted by bsluijk:
The one thing that strikes me from a technical point is the white outline around the bird and the leaves. This could be from back-lighting, but I guess this is a sharpening artifact, which for me is a bit of a letdown in an otherwise very nice image. The leaves have a hairy outer rim. Light was late afternoon but filtered through the foliage. A small amount of sharpening was done (for Web) and it may have emphasised that. I'll keep an eye in future. Thanks for pointing it out!
 01/11/2013 02:19:30 AM
Originally posted by ursula:
If I were to have one nitpick, it is that light leaf intruding at top right side; my eyes keep wandering to it, which takes away attention from your subject. Agreed, I never noticed that, would Advanced allow the cloning out of that? I believe it does.
 01/11/2013 02:14:06 AM
Originally posted by Dennisheckman:
I wish it was a little closer. Sort of hard to make out. HA! Funny Guy :)

I would say just to refine the image a little, maybe could use a little noise reduction in the green leafy area's. Agreed, and I normally do mask the bird and apply DeNoise to the BG if the BG is clear and uncluttered. but I'll give it a go for you :)


Thanks for the valid and much appreciated comments.

Message edited by author 2013-01-11 02:17:06.
 01/10/2013 04:46:57 PM
Beautiful and interesting bird - the lighting outlining him esp the head and beak is stunning as is the environment. Your incredible patience was certainly rewarded with this wonderful capture - I look forward to seeing the female next week.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/10/2013 01:39:29 PM
It feels so good to see bright colours at this (in my part of the world) very grey part of the year. If I were to have one nitpick, it is that light leaf intruding at top right side; my eyes keep wandering to it, which takes away attention from your subject. I love all the context! I admire bird photographers tremendously for their incredible patience!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/10/2013 12:22:18 PM
I wish it was a little closer. Sort of hard to make out. HA!

Harvey, you have an amazing talent for bird photography. I know how tough it is even though I have have not made a serious attempt at it yet. You have portrayed this bird very well with capturing his profile and plummage. I would say just to refine the image a little, maybe could use a little noise reduction in the green leafy area's. You've done a great job of showing him in his native environment.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/10/2013 09:57:56 AM
Wonderful!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/10/2013 06:19:41 AM
Another lovely shot, great to look at. I love birdwatching, bit at this point in time I lack time and patience. Lovely to see what others can do. You manage to capture a beautiful bird in a natural setting, nicely framed. The one thing that strikes me from a technical point is the white outline around the bird and the leaves. This could be from back-lighting, but I guess this is a sharpening artifact, which for me is a bit of a letdown in an otherwise very nice image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/10/2013 05:35:40 AM
Wildlife the real deal) photography is not for the impatient - I totally agree with your remark that including the birds natural environment add so much to the shot .. Great job not blowing out the highlights on the beak and I love the saturated colors of the flora and fauna in this shot.
It's so exciting to get a shot of a hard to capture bird and it's perfect acceptable to have less than perfect technique when getting such a unique capture as this so you must be over the moon happy that your technical applications are so strong.
Congratulations!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/10/2013 03:16:42 AM
He is so beautiful!! I have never seen this species before. I can imagine that, with the dark feathers and brilliant color splashes, it would be difficult to achieve appropriate exposure. You have managed that very well. Thank you for this glimpse of this amazing creature and for the information you included.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/10/2013 03:10:29 AM
I like the way the shallow focus makes the bird stand out. I feel it may be slightly over sharpened. It's great that you got a profile shot with that interesting beak. The splash of purple on the bird (which is why, I'm sure, it has Amethyst in its name - smart, ain't I) is amazing. I like to try and photo birds myself (still learning) which is why I can appreciate your skill and patience.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 04/03/2025 07:39:15 PM EDT.