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IMAGE DOCTOR
Beautiful bird
On a trip to South Africa, Robert
Myles captured this most beautiful
bird in Kruger National Park at the
Lions Sands Game Reserve.
“It was difficult to photograph
as it is a very active small bird,”
he writes. “It was midway on the
morning game drive with our
driver Enoch and our tracker
Million. They located the bird
and then we set up and waited for
the right time. It was hot, humid
and full sun which made it very
bright and difficult for good
photography. I finally took several
shots of the bird and the best one
I have submitted. I also had
another opportunity to take photos
of this bird at the Hide Game
Reserve in Hwange National
Park. I am very happy with the
photo but I would appreciate any
advice. This is the second time
that I submitted this photo to
Image Doctor. I am not sure what
happened, it may have got lost in
c y b er s p ace”.
Yes, well, the spam stopper may
have been at work again, but you
got through the second time at
least. That said, thanks for makingthe effort as this classic wildlife
image is such a good example of
a difficult photographic subject- being small and active can
make it a frustrating experience.
The perfect lighting allows this
perfectly posed roller bird to
stand out against that featureless
background – the colour and
detail in the feathers is great.
My one comment would be that
the broken branch could do with a
make-over. I also note that the bird
is a little ‘edgy’ which means it is
slightly oversharpened. However
since it will go into print that
should not be an issue.
SA I M A’S T I P: Images destined
for printing need about 20% more
sharpening than those headed for
web viewing.TITLE: Lilac Breasted Roller Bird.
PHOTOGRAPHER: Robert Myles
DETAILS: Nikon D800, 50-
500mm lens @ 500mm, 1/500s
@ f/10, ISO 1250. Apple iPhoto
for enhancement, definition,
highlights, sharpness and
colour saturation.AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY JUNE 2016Under the bridge
“We were in New York in February and
managed to f luke our trip so we were there
during a nice patch of weather between two
snowstorms!” writes Nick Morton. “Late one
afternoon we walked down the East Side of
Central Park, venturing in at different points
to explore. The sun was low in the sky and had
just broken through the clouds when we came
across this bridge. I loved the natural lighting
in the branches of the snow-covered trees, so
I set up my tripod to capture the moment.
Shortly after the sun disappeared and it
became too cold and dark to stay, so I was lucky
to have had nature co-operate for a short time.”
This shot is interesting in that it is almost
monochrome until you see the green sign
under the bridge – an accidental inclusion
perhaps? This is distracting or attracting,
depending on how you see it. It doesn’t add
much in the way of strong interest but when
you become aware of it, the colour in other
parts (golden leaves) starts to reveal itself. This
shot is well-exposed and certainly creates a
nice chilly scene, but could benefit with a
blurred person or something walking under
the bridge. I guess it was far too cold for many
people to be out and about.SAIMA’S TIP: With very cold winter scenes,
the snow can have a featureless white blanket
effect so texture, shadows and colour become
important to create dimension and interest.TITLE: Central Park Bridge
PHOTOGRAPHER: Nick Morton
DETAILS: Nikon D610, 24-70mm @
60mm, 1/40s @ f/7.1, 100 ISO. Image
straightened, highlight and contrast
adjusted in Lightroom. Distractions
removed in Photoshop.