I usually do not process or keep “portrait” type images, but occasionally if I have only one flawed, but maybe salvageable image of a species, I might try to make the save. This is one of those. This is a Great Tinamou, a large, but very secretive bird of Central America rainforests. They have been hunted for a long time and have become very wary in most places. You often hear them at dawn, before the sun rises, but you do not see them often. I saw this one only briefly and had only a fleeting moment to shoot. I was using way too lens (840 mm) and was hand holding so the shot was marginal. Instead of trashing it, I cropped down to the following head shot. Shot with Canon R5, 600 mm f/4.0 + 1.4x extender, handheld at f/5.6, SS 1/320. ISO 10,000. Processed in PS after conversion in DXO Pure Raw 3, and passed through Topaz De Noise prior to conversion to JPEG.
Country Panama
Location Pipeline Road
Gender Unknown
Age Adult
Activity Feeding in the Wild
- Created Timestamp05/09/2023 15:42:18
- CameraCanon EOS R5
- Aperture5.6
- CreditJim Babbitt
- Focal Length840
- Iso10000
- Shutter Speed1/320
I’m a huge fan of portrait shots. Keep it. I love the detail.
I certainly understand your Keep or Not thinking. You made the right choice on this one – the portrait is visually stunning. Glad you kept it and shared it with us.