White Tail Kites

Gallery: AvianPosted March 21, 2012110 views12 comments

March 18, 2012 Carbon Canyon Regional Park, Brea, CA
Nikon D300 200-400 1.4TC f/7.1 1/4000 ISO-800 -0.3 step 550mm
Aperture Priority White Balance Auto

Crop to 75% Tripod with Wimberley

These shots were taken this last Sunday, when it rained in the morning and the dark clouds were clearing in the afternoon. The light varied from moment to moment, hence the relatively high ISO, coupled with the high shutter speed and low f-stop. The action started as the clouds cleared and I shot the subjects without concern about my camera settings. Just prior to the mating in this shot, the male exchanged a mouse with the female in the air. I got lots of shots with the male and mouse, but was trying to adjust the telephoto to get the two into the frame when the exchange happened. Comments welcome

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on March 21, 2012 at 8:20 AM

Excellent view of the mating. Considering the uniformity of the sky BG, I believe a little less canvas on the right and more on the left might be in order. The sky BG is also cyan, rather than blue. Also, I think you posted the same size image as larger.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on March 21, 2012 at 8:53 AM

Patrick: I like the action you've captured here. Exposure looks pretty good in a tough situation. The sky does have a cyan look to it as noted. I took a look at the larger version and it does not have an embedded color profile. That will cause the image to display in unpredictable ways for each person and their web browsers. For web presentation, sRGB is the preferred color profile.

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

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on March 21, 2012 at 9:40 AM

Keith,
Thank you for catching the embedded color profile. I will be sure to do that in the future. I want to thank both of you for your feedback.

Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 21, 2012 at 12:24 PM

Great angle on the action! Love the wingspread for balance.
The cyan cast throughout dulls the birds and make an odd sky - but easily corrected.
Looking forward to the re-processing and the other images you got!
Sandy

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

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on March 21, 2012 at 10:43 PM

Great job capturing this mating activity, Patrick. Pretty tough lighting, but you handles it well. I do see a color cast causing the sky to look a bit unnatural, but that should be correctable.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Roman Kurywczak on March 22, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Great action and story but the light seems a bit harsh overhead. Still must have been a treat to see especially the mouse exchange!

Registered on November 20, 2009, 56 Posts, 748 Comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on March 22, 2012 at 10:33 PM

I want to thank all of you who have given me feedback. I have made a few changes and wonder how this works for you now.

Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on March 22, 2012 at 10:55 PM

Still a lot of cyan there. The birds have lost the greenish color cast in the original.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on March 23, 2012 at 10:44 AM

The repost is a nice improvement, Patrick. Most of the color cast is gone and the whites on the Kites look much better.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on March 25, 2012 at 1:34 AM

Very cool to get them mating, Patrick. The repost is an improvement, but I still see a pretty strong halo around the birds. When I get up there I'll show you how to avoid this.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 26, 2012 at 1:33 AM

Much better! Good job!
VERY envious of all the great kite images you guys are getting..
Sandy

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

Comment posted by May Haga on March 27, 2012 at 1:05 PM

Now that's catching the action. Very well done.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments