Red Wattlebird

Hello one and all.

I've been admiring everyone's photos for a few months now and I must say that I'm very envious of the skills (and lenses) that you all have. It's been a bit intimidating really but, I've decided to bite the bullet and actually post something myself.

This is a Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata), and can be found in the lower regions of Australia. Thankfully we have the right native trees around that they come back year after year so I can gain lots of practice with these guys. Unfortunately, it's a bit too dark around the eye so the detail is lost, but I do have some others that may make up for that if people are interested.

I have posted the full photo (resized for the forum) and 100% crop, both have had some minor adjustment in Lightroom, converted from RAW to jpg, and run through Noise Ninja.

C&C is welcome of both the photo/s and the post-processing.

uncropped

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

That's a bird I haven't seen, and quite a large crop. Well done, keep them coming.

I don't believe you have any duck shots. Let's see them.

Good crop. Never heard of these. Is that a wattle on the side of his neck?

Welcome to the Forum, it is about time you came foreward with your shots. It is especially interesting to see bird from other parts of the world. I too, want to see those obligatory ducks shots and soon!

Welcome to the forum, that first pic is the kind of shot that you would want to have a good fast tele in order to isolate that animal from such a "busy " background, good clarity on the bird in your 100% crop; colors are a bit muted though; considering the kind of light that I'am seeing in photo #1. Take the image back and do some shadow/highlight adjustments to bring that eye out into the open, along with some curve and saturation adjustments.
Look forward to seeing more shots from ya.

Paul A wrote in post #2406075
That's a bird I haven't seen, and quite a large crop. Well done, keep them coming.

Thanks Paul.

canonloader wrote in post #2406488
I don't believe you have any duck shots. Let's see them.

Good crop. Never heard of these. Is that a wattle on the side of his neck?

Are you calling me a liar?

Yes, it's the wattle, and it becomes bigger with age,

dancinec wrote in post #2407418
Welcome to the Forum, it is about time you came foreward with your shots. It is especially interesting to see bird from other parts of the world. I too, want to see those obligatory ducks shots and soon!

Thank you. I shall post the ducks soon.

Kiddpsychotic wrote in post #2407734
Welcome to the forum, that first pic is the kind of shot that you would want to have a good fast tele in order to isolate that animal from such a "busy " background, good clarity on the bird in your 100% crop; colors are a bit muted though; considering the kind of light that I'am seeing in photo #1. Take the image back and do some shadow/highlight adjustments to bring that eye out into the open, along with some curve and saturation adjustments.
Look forward to seeing more shots from ya.

Thank you, and I agree. Pity I can't afford a better lens for a year or so

You have found my greatest weakness - post-processing. I have only really gotten into pp in the past month and it's a steep learning curve. I have lots to learn!