Snail kite

Gallery: AvianPosted April 10, 2011338 views25 comments

A shot from this morning. I like the action with the bird switching the snail from foot to beak. I also like the light and BG. A bit more of a crop than I would like, but my goal is to get a similar shot FF before the end of the breeding season. Please view larger version for best details. Thanks.

Canon 1DM4
500mm f/4 + 1.4x TC
ISO 800
1/2500s
f/7.1
Manual Exp.
Hand held from my boat
46% of FF

Comments

25 comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on April 10, 2011 at 5:52 PM

Great capture- Beautiful pose, colors and BG on this one- My best congrats, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments

Comment posted by dan elster on April 10, 2011 at 8:15 PM

Larger version reveals stunning details! Love the water droplets and behavior you captured.

Registered on September 23, 2005, 299 Posts, 2443 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on April 10, 2011 at 8:26 PM

Very impressive as posted. Detail shows focus was spot on. Great action. Nice exposure.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on April 10, 2011 at 8:46 PM

Really nice, Ron! Love the colors, detail and droplets. Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on April 10, 2011 at 8:54 PM

Fantastic pose, Ron. I like the upright wings and the way the snail is being held. The intensity on the kite's eyes is evident. The trailing water droplets also enhance this image considerably. The crop is evident in the kite's claws, but that is a very minor nit. Thanks for sharing this!

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on April 10, 2011 at 9:25 PM

Are you kidding me? That was what my immediate reaction was from the thumbnail, and it got better when I clicked through and then over-the-top in the larger image. Great capture, incredible sharpness, perfect DOF...the list goes on. The water droplets add a little interest and sense of immediacy, but it's the dynamic tension of the positioning of the snail that really puts this one over the top IMO.

Really outstanding image, Ron.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on April 10, 2011 at 9:58 PM

Ron,
Cropped or not this is stunning. Great detail in the feathers. Very difficult shot with a busy background. Could have easily lost the focus to the background. Superb capture.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by John Blumenkamp on April 10, 2011 at 10:34 PM

Amazing capture Ron... love the water droplets and those talons. Congrats!

Registered on February 26, 2011, 58 Posts, 313 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on April 10, 2011 at 11:26 PM

I am certainly enjoying your Snail Kites, Ron. fantastic pose and action, love the foot to bill transfer, the water drops, the great view of bill and talons. love your comp too. Only thing that will be better is when you have it full frame--I suspect it's only a matter of time.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Scoles on April 11, 2011 at 3:59 AM

Wonderful stop action shot!! I'd be content with this one, crop and all!!

Registered on August 21, 2008, 42 Posts, 214 Comments

Comment posted by Karen Summers on April 11, 2011 at 6:01 AM

Fantastic capture Ron beautiful viewed large

Registered on December 3, 2009, 83 Posts, 818 Comments

Comment posted by Sue Eberhart on April 11, 2011 at 9:58 AM

Be still my heart! what a gorgeous, in every way capture! The colors, the water, the posture, the background all come together to make this notable.

Registered on June 9, 2009, 44 Posts, 208 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on April 11, 2011 at 11:54 AM

Ron: Awesome shot. Every element of this image seems to work together. Even the darker edge in the upper right background mimics the shape of the front edge of the back wing. Wow. (OK, so you probably didn't plan that

). Fantastic shot

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Murali Santhanam on April 11, 2011 at 2:07 PM

Wow ! Lovely scene. Can't believe that you could manage this hand-held. Fantastic.

Registered on July 31, 2008, 43 Posts, 331 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on April 11, 2011 at 3:16 PM

Nice in flight transfer, the water drops are a sweet bonus. Love the two tone background too. Excellent work Ron

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Elwood on April 11, 2011 at 3:48 PM

Always something to strive for Ron, but this one is sure superb!! Well done and I like the composition.

Registered on January 15, 2010, 101 Posts, 396 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on April 11, 2011 at 5:39 PM

Excellent sharpness Ron - nice job locking on with that background. Perfect timing for the snail transfer, the colors look natural and I like the falling water drops. Really nice background too. Excellent behavioral/flight shot. I'm sure we'll see the near FF version before nesting season is over.

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

Comment posted by Rick Lundh on April 11, 2011 at 5:57 PM

Seriously?!? holey moley!!!

Registered on April 28, 2004, 774 Posts, 4351 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on April 11, 2011 at 6:09 PM

I love the way this pops from the screen Ron - great colours and pose too

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on April 11, 2011 at 10:24 PM

A KILLER image !!!
Water dripping from talons is a big plus here.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on April 12, 2011 at 11:19 AM

Ron,

This is an excellent image, great pose & action, background, light, sharpness and comp. The background provides a wonderful sense of place for this species and the snail in the bill is super. The colors are natural and thus very appealing to me. I'd be very proud to have taken this.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on April 12, 2011 at 12:51 PM

This is really a superb action shot, Ron. I have yet to come even near this in my photography.......maybe some day....

P.S.: Maybe if I buy a boat......

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on April 12, 2011 at 10:54 PM

No Way! I tell you you all just amaze me here at NPN . That is soooo cool Ron. The water dropping adds so much to the image and I too love the switch action from foot to beak. I know it's a large crop so I'm sure that's why I see some BG noise on the larger posted. (I just have some kind of issue with noise.) Super image as posted

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

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on April 13, 2011 at 3:24 PM

The larger version shows what an incredible capture and image this is. This is amazing clarity and light and detail, wonderful colors. I don't think there are any superlatives that are too much for this image. Wonderful work.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by David E Lester on April 13, 2011 at 6:46 PM

Just...WOW, and hand held..WOW Love it...!!!

Registered on March 24, 2010, 155 Posts, 793 Comments