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American Kestrels Mating
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American Kestrels Mating

by Roger Leekam

Gallery: AvianPosted July 17, 2013146 views6 comments
Canon7D, 400mm5.6lens, 1/3200sec,f5.6,ISO400. Taken hand held in evening sun in Dominican Republic. This pair clearly had mating on their minds so I followed them for a couple of hours until they settled on the roof of a hotel where the did the deed with the sun behind them. Approx 40% of original.

Comments

6 comments
Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on July 17, 2013 at 1:10 PM
Well posed. The photo held together fairly well for 40%, but I am seeing noise in the whites, probably from shadow/highlight adjustment.
Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Watkins on July 18, 2013 at 5:43 AM
Roger,
A remarkable moment, pity about the roof , a nice perch would have been better :biggrin:
I agree with Phil about the noise you really needed an 800 :toast:
Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments
Comment posted by Nate Chappell on July 19, 2013 at 5:34 PM
Great action and capture despite the lighting conditions and building. I would include a little more room on the bottom even though it would show the building more, it just feels a bit tight there. :toast:
Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments
Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on July 20, 2013 at 8:25 AM
I also would include more of the perch if you have it. Great moment captured! The poses are awesome. Sharon
Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments
Comment posted by Marylynne Diggs on August 22, 2013 at 12:25 PM
Spectacular. I can never get Kestrels to sit still, but I never had them move like this either ;-). Great sharpness and poses.
Registered on December 14, 2010, 122 Posts, 1034 Comments
Comment posted by Martin Dunn on August 22, 2013 at 12:31 PM
It's capturing the moment that counts here. Yes a longer lens would have been nice and the sun could have been in a better position but it is still a terrific capture of an intimate moment.
Very well done. :toast:
Registered on February 20, 2013, 198 Posts, 1011 Comments