American Kestrel & Prey

Gallery: AvianPosted December 13, 2009183 views7 comments

Camera Canon 40D, lens: Canon 400 f5.6, 1/1500 sec, ISO400
I chose the fast speed & rapid sequence because he had just landed on the branch & seemed about to take off. I was hoping to catch him in flight. I'm having a hard time posting this as sharp as the original. Please view at a distance.

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on December 13, 2009 at 6:24 PM

The detail is great and the prey is awesome. The main problem with this photo is the whites on the face are completely blown and there is no detail there. I'm also wondering if this was a large crop based on how tight the bird is in the frame - if it was I'd suggest leaving a little more room all around the falcon

- Luke

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on December 13, 2009 at 7:28 PM

Neat to get the kestrel with prey Roger and they certainly are beautiful birds. Nice head turn and catch light. I agree with Luke's critique - the kestrel is tight and the face whites are blown. I also see noise in that nice blue sky.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on December 13, 2009 at 10:01 PM

Hi Roger, a bit more work can be done on this photo of you'd like to improve it further.
Do you have the raw file, to see if you can get any detail back in the blown whites ?
As suggested, giving the bird more room to breath in the frame would also help, as well as some noise reduction on the BG.
Definitely a photo worth working on as its a beauty.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Carrie O'Brien-Sib on December 14, 2009 at 8:09 AM

Well done on the capture! What a beauty!

Registered on August 4, 2009, 149 Posts, 889 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Leekam on December 14, 2009 at 10:14 AM

Thanks, everyone. I have several in RAW & will definitely be working on them. Great comments!

Registered on May 28, 2009, 83 Posts, 646 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on December 14, 2009 at 8:32 PM

It's a great catch yet I agree with other poists. Well worth starting over from raw if you can for IMO a great image

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on September 2, 2011 at 8:55 AM

Good work Roger, I haven't been able to get this close to the Kestrels here in Central Texas yet.
The mouse is a great bonus

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments