Great-tailed Grackle

The Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus), as suggested by its zoological name,  is found mostly in Latin America and is considered “rare/accidental” in the Galapagos Islands.    This image was captured on colour negative film and years latter scanned into the computer where I processed the file much as I would a native digital file.

Given that the bird is almost entirely jet black in colour and was photographed against a brightly lit sky,  I decided to accept the massive contrast involved and push the image towards a more graphic,  illustrative effect.    I enhanced saturation in the branches and the golden eye of the bird,  I was happy to let the sky go completely white.

Great-tailed Grackle, Galapagos Islands