White-tailed Kite

Gallery: AvianPosted May 6, 201685 views6 comments

This White-tailed Kite visits the field behind my house (thirty miles east of Sacramento) in the spring and fall. I love this pose and tried to accentuate it by brightening the sky behind the bird a little. Too much? Is this type of manipulation desirable? Otherwise I felt the photo was a bit weak. Lighting was too strong, I didn't get any of the wonderful eye color these guys have, and the bird was too far away to get a really sharp image. I cropped this by at least 75%. Comments are appreciated.

D810
300mm f/2.8
Auto White Balance
ISO 400
f/7.1
1/3200
EV: -0.67
Tripod mounted

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Sharon Lane on May 6, 2016 at 6:29 PM

Love the capture but would like to see it without the brighter background, almost washes out the whiteness of the kite.

Registered on August 13, 2009, 15 Posts, 51 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on May 6, 2016 at 7:02 PM

Great hovering pose, Robert. You actually have pretty decent detail for a white bird and that large a crop. I agree that a view of the eye would have been an excellent addition. I think I'd reduce or remove the halo-it looks pretty overdone to my eye.

devil

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

Comment posted by David Rowe on May 7, 2016 at 5:08 AM

An impressive bird. The detail looks good, Robert, and I feel that the take could benefit from a yet tighter crop. I’d suggest a uniform light blue sky or light sky with some cloud detail.
David

Registered on December 20, 2013, 133 Posts, 286 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Williams on May 7, 2016 at 7:46 PM

Love the pose/action here Robert. Too bad it was so far away and so brightly lit. You did a nice job getting detail in the feathers for the conditions and the light.

Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Ryan on May 9, 2016 at 5:13 PM

I took out the lightened background and tightened the crop. Better? Thanks all, Bob

Registered on January 13, 2016, 9 Posts, 21 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on May 10, 2016 at 11:08 PM

Agree with others about the BG and like the repost much better. Nice wing position on this.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments