Haven't been commenting or posting because I've been on a birding vacation in SW Florida. Though the temps have been quite cool, the photo opportunities are boundless down here. I had taken this on a day that started out cold and dreary, so I drove the countryside looking for this bird. Luckily, late in the day the sun came out. I did mage to find a few, as well as some juvi's. This was taken along a back road where 2 vultures were on some roadkill, and this guy was just biding his time on this post.
I cloned out a strand of barbed wire at the bottom.
Shot from a car window, with lens rsting on a beanbag.
D300 w/Nikon 200-400mm W/1.4TC eq 825mm
f/5.6
1/1600
iso 500
EC -0.7
Full Frame
I'll be flying back tomorrow and hope to get back into commenting on all the great pics being post, until then, ALL comments and critiques are welcomed and appreciated.
Comments
10 commentslstván
Nice work on finding this caracara out in the open with a clean background and nice light! I like the pose and the great look you appear to be getting. I think f5.6 worked very well for choice of dof and that your clone work to remove the barbed wire is great.
If this were mine I might try to bring out a little more detail in the dark feathers in a levels layer and pull the midtones up a little.
I love the intense look in the eye that this species seems to always exhibit. Very well done!
Angela, that is blood. It was feeding from the same carcass as the vultures I'm assuming as they often feed together from what I've read and seen now.
Congrats on finding the caracara and on the very nice capture. I like the perch, BG and head turn and eye contact. Exposure looks good. I agree about trying to bring out a little more detail in the black wings. This is one of my nemesis birds: I never get close and can never get a good light angle even at a distance.
great capture! I especially like the pose, the background and the look of the bird.
I look forward to seeing this with the darks lightened a little.
I brought the darks up and increased the midtone contrast a bit.
Thanks again for the critiques and comments.
I like the repost better, thank you for taking the time to redit this image, it was worth the wait.