Kestrel Departure

Gallery: AvianPosted December 16, 2011334 views22 comments

My luck at photographing a kestrel taking flight usually means a backside of the tail, no head shown, etc... lol I got lucky with this little one facing me last February out at Farmington Bay WMA here in northern Utah.

1DIV @ 700mm
1/3200 f/7.1 iso1000

Thanks for taking a look!

John

Comments

22 comments

Comment posted by Bill Caldwell on December 16, 2011 at 10:22 AM

Awesome capture! Nice soft background too--beautiful.

Registered on October 10, 2011, 62 Posts, 508 Comments

Comment posted by Avi Hirschfield on December 16, 2011 at 10:44 AM

Excellent flight shot and sometimes LUCK takes over

Registered on November 1, 2003, 518 Posts, 2114 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on December 16, 2011 at 10:56 AM

Well done. Good light on the entire bird, sharp and frozen nicely, great eye contact and pleasing background. Wish I dared use ISO 1000 with my 7D.

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

Comment posted by Harry Harris on December 16, 2011 at 12:13 PM

Love it John. Excellent exposure and sharpness. I like the light BG which the colors enhance the Kestrel. Great ey and tail spread. Thanks for posting.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on December 16, 2011 at 12:28 PM

You were certainly at the right place and right time to catch this shot John and what a fabulous job! I love the degree of contrast between the kestrel and OOF BG. Just beautiful in every sense, a feast for the birders eye!

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by David Williams on December 16, 2011 at 3:56 PM

Beautiful clean shot, John. I can never get them to take off in my direction. Great eye contact and wing spread to capture the whole moment.

Registered on March 8, 2005, 315 Posts, 2291 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on December 16, 2011 at 5:35 PM

Beautiful shot! John.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on December 16, 2011 at 5:35 PM

Great crisp shot. Surprised no one has suggested taking the post out

Worth a thought?
Great looking bird I must say.
JohnR

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Pullen on December 16, 2011 at 6:47 PM

Beautiful, one of my favorite raptors.

Ron

Registered on December 18, 2005, 74 Posts, 1413 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Zalik on December 16, 2011 at 7:28 PM

I really like the symmetry in the outstretched wings. Very sharp with a clean background. Congratulations on this fantastic shot!

Registered on August 6, 2011, 3 Posts, 12 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on December 16, 2011 at 10:08 PM

Sure wish I could get a kestrel in flight image...it might take a while to find one that would fly towards me, though

! Really great image! I love the wing position, the background, and the catchlight is pretty sweet, too. It looks like this guy must have just eaten as there as some blood on his foot. What a beautiful bird!

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on December 16, 2011 at 10:23 PM

excellent, John. love the light, the spread wings, and the great catchlight. sharpness looks great. I certainly wouldn't remove the post--it gives context to this really nice take-off.

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on December 17, 2011 at 3:06 PM

Excellent take off shot John, the splayed feet add to the drama here.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel & Loana on December 17, 2011 at 4:53 PM

Wonderful shot, with perfect BG and details.

D&L

Registered on October 7, 2008, 166 Posts, 3044 Comments

Comment posted by Suzanne Huot on December 17, 2011 at 9:11 PM

Lady Luck was with you on this one John ,Beautiful capture and perfect timing,great B/G to show off the lovely plumage colours too.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 32 Posts, 240 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on December 18, 2011 at 2:21 AM

Excellent perspective here - sharp bird, nice eye, very nice BG.
Great catch!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Tim Sommers on December 18, 2011 at 6:31 AM

beautiful photo and tell all my friends at farmington bay hi. what a great place to photograph

Registered on December 8, 2011, 14 Posts, 9 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on December 18, 2011 at 1:36 PM

Nice, John. I've yet to get what I think is a decent kestrel at any angle, so I'm envious.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Alan Bryant on December 18, 2011 at 2:53 PM

Great timing. Love the BG and the detail.

Congrats on getting your goal, its a sweet image