Vermilion Flycatcher

Posted by Alan Melle on Tue Aug 26, 2003 9:51 am

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Patagonia Lakes SP, AZ

This little guy kept returning to this perch so I set up for him in early morning light. A whir of wings overhead revealed why he kept coming back to this spot. His mate had just flown into their nest about twenty feet over my head. The first beam of sunlight lit him up until he glowed.

F5, 600mm f/4, TC-14E, Gitzo, BH-1, Provia 100F
No levels, curves or saturation in PS. Cloned out one small twig under the tail.

All comments greatly appreciated. Thanks

Alan Melle
NSN0041

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Alan Melle
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by AlexC on Tue Aug 26, 2003 9:56 am

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Wonderful morsel, I bird that I have never seen!!, Nice pose, nice profile and good detail, exposure to the edge but not bad, A tad contrasty , the BG is nice as well, Congrats!!!

[b]Alex Calzadilla[/b]
[b]Miami, Florida[/b]
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"At the feast of ego everyone leaves hungry." - Bentley's House of Coffee and Tea, Tucson, AZ

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by E.J. Peiker on Tue Aug 26, 2003 10:05 am

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This is much bigger in the frame than anything I have. I think about a third stop less would have been even better but a really nice shot of one of Arizona's most beautiful birds.

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by Sandy Mossberg on Tue Aug 26, 2003 10:18 am

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A lovely shot, Alan. The reds are hot, so EJ's suggestion is a good one. A step or two to the right might have gotten the beak against the lighter green BG.

Sandy Mossberg
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by Greg Downing on Tue Aug 26, 2003 1:11 pm

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Agee with the above, but a nice shot and I have nothing on this bird!

Greg Downing
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by Chris Fagyal on Tue Aug 26, 2003 2:23 pm

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Very nice shot of this beautiful bird. One of my favorites when I visited SE Arizona. The whites underneath the wings look blown out a bit, and thus I agree with what the others have said about stopping down abit, but otherwise very well done.

Chris Fagyal
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by Ray on Tue Aug 26, 2003 2:29 pm

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A really stunning bird, perhaps a tad over exposed, but still a more than acceptable result. Astute observation and planning has resulted in a cracking image. Job well done, excellent result.

Ray

Always honest, isn't hindsight a wonderful thing ???
No shame in not knowing, the shame lies in not asking.

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by Anthony Medici on Tue Aug 26, 2003 6:13 pm

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A stunning bird I've never seen before. The group talking about exposure know what they are talking about. And if Ray likes it, it's good.

Hi, Ray! (Where is my wave Heather

I'm going to have to put up my own.

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Tony

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by LHays on Tue Aug 26, 2003 6:42 pm

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Good observational skills will get you far in bird photography. This is a beautiful bird and one I've never seen before. Good suggestions have been made.....and it's l a pretty darn good shot.

Lana Hays
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by Chip Estabrooks on Tue Aug 26, 2003 7:06 pm

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Beautiful little bird that pops on the screen. I agree with the exposure suggestions.
Very nice,
Chip

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by TSparger on Tue Aug 26, 2003 7:16 pm

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I wish we had these birds in Georgia. Love the shot.

Todd Sparger
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by Bruce Sherman on Tue Aug 26, 2003 7:22 pm

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Alan,
Very nice shot. I would gladly take this one. My experience with these guys has produced shots, that like this one are just a tad over on exposure. They are really tough to get a good exposure on.

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by Alan Murphy on Tue Aug 26, 2003 7:55 pm

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Alan, you got a nice relaxed pose here. I feel its a little hot.

Alan Murphy
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by Richard on Tue Aug 26, 2003 8:47 pm

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Alan,

Never seen one of these guys. Sweet looking bird and image!

[b]Richard Hogg[/b]
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by Juli Wilcox on Thu Aug 28, 2003 6:38 am