White Tailed Kite Bringing Stick to Nest

[Loi Nguyen]

This make kite has been hard at work building nest and preparing for his little family. I observed him bringing sticks to the nest at least 10 times in one day. He also brought prey to his mate 3 or 4 times, and I was fortunate to see the mid air food exchange that I posted in the forum earlier two days ago.

For this shot, I metered the blue sky just above the white cloud and reduced the exposure by 1 EV to ensure that I do not blow the whites. I also experimented with the Better Beamer (BB) as well.

1DX
500f4 II + 2X iii
1/3200
f11
ISO-800
Tripod
BB at - 1 2/3
Evaluative metering at blue sky about 30 degrees off the mountain top

In post, I felt the image was under-exposed by about 2/3 eV, so I bumped up exposure in DPP by 2/3EV while checking the whites values below about 235.

I will continue to photograph these birds in the next few months, so appreciate your comments with respect to the exposure and BB (should I bother with the BB here?)

Thank you

Loi

[Karl Egressy]

Very nice image, Loi. I might tempt to take off about half an inch from the top,
just above the peak.

[Dave Leroy]

I can't really give you advice about BB but exposure looks very good as processed for some pretty hot light. It would be nice for a bit lighter in the shadowed wing part but a lovely photo.
I really like how the bird is fully covered in bg by the mountain. Excellent pose with the action and very sharp for 1000mm.
Looking forward to seeing how this progresses.

[David Salem]

Very nice shot Loi. Exposure and details look good. Shows the branch well and I like the distant mountain BG. Good for you finding a active nest site. Look forward to lots more shots. With a plentiful food source, these raptors can cycle 2-3 times a season. Have fun.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Loi. Very nice action captured with good sharpness. I also like the comp and background. The image looks a little flat on my monitor - maybe brighten some of the whites (for example - under the wing) and up the blacks on the primaries a little. I'm looking forward to seeing more images from this nesting site!

[shane shacaluga]

Very nice shot! IQ is very good for the 2x convertor! The whites look good to me as well. As mentioned above, a bit lighter on the dark underwing would help.

I want you to keep us posted on this nest and eventually show us the chicks on their first flight attempts!!

TFS

[Loi Nguyen]

Thank you for the encouraging comments by you all. This means a lot to me as I'm still learning and motivates to to try to get better.

I did a quick tweak in LR4: increased Shadow level to +57, reduced Black to -5, increased White to +12, and took a wee bit off the top o minimize the grayish cloud. Hope it looks better.

The tree is a good distance from where I can shoot, thus the 2X and I chose F11 to get a bit more sharpness. It was cropped to ~ 33% of the original W and 60% of the original H (original frmae was for Horizontal format).

Thank you

Loi

[vishaljadhav]

I like the repost, the image is lovely
the wing position is nicely captured. the red eye looks good
like this image

[arash_hazeghi]

Loi,

A nice landing, nesting material adds too. I like the BG as well. Fine details are lacking though, it seems like it was a big crop because you were too far.

IMO the best way to expose s WTK is manual exposure. Forget about using flash.

The main issue with WTK is getting close enough, it seems like you are way too far from the birds. You need to study their behavior and figure when they let you get close, this usually happen when mating or bringing food/nesting material.

Good luck

[Loi Nguyen]

Loi,

A nice landing, nesting material adds too. I like the BG as well. Fine details are lacking though, it seems like it was a big crop because you were too far.

IMO the best way to expose s WTK is manual exposure. Forget about using flash.

The main issue with WTK is getting close enough, it seems like you are way too far from the birds. You need to study their behavior and figure when they let you get close, this usually happen when mating or bringing food/nesting material.

Good luck

Arash, thank you for your comments. Ah, now I wish I had gone for the 600mmf4 II instead. I could get a little closer, but then I would lose the high vantage point and not being able to include the mountain in the BG and I would have to shoot at a steep angle, so not sure if it is worth it. I'm seriously thinking about taping the pins of my 2X and put a Kenko 1.4X behind it. ALternatively, I have a T3i that I could try to put more pixels into the subject, but I'm not sure I would gain anything here.

[arash_hazeghi]

Arash, thank you for your comments. Ah, now I wish I had gone for the 600mmf4 II instead. I could get a little closer, but then I would lose the high vantage point and not being able to include the mountain in the BG and I would have to shoot at a steep angle, so not sure if it is worth it. I'm seriously thinking about taping the pins of my 2X and put a Kenko 1.4X behind it. ALternatively, I have a T3i that I could try to put more pixels into the subject, but I'm not sure I would gain anything here.

Loi, nothing can make up for the huge distance between you and the birds, adding another TC, different camera etc. will all result in frustration. you need to get much closer or find a location that they are more approachable, I know it is tough but it sure is rewarding :S3:

[Robert Holguin]

Great shot.
I really like the nesting material, exposed very well, nice light and great background.
Well done.

[PhilCook]

Great behavioral shot, loving the stick in the beak especially getting it with the eye clear, and liking very much the inclusion of the tree below and the mountain backdrop, the re post has lifted it a little more. The up swept wings and talons extended work great....nicely done and lucky you finding an active nest

[Satish Ranadive]

Loi:
Magnificent image of kite.
Love the landing the pose with nesting material in beak,great exposure and beautiful composition.

Regards,
Satish.