Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides)

[Tim Collins]

Hi all, first post here.

Came across this male Nankeen Kestrel perched on a fence in Chiltern, Victoria. It is feeding on a House Sparrow, a pest in the area.

Nankeen Kestrel (Falco cenchroides) with House Sparrow (Passer domesticus).
13/11/2013.
Chitern, Victoria, Australia.
Canon 1dx, 400mm f/2.8, 2x canon teleconverter.
ISO 6400, f/8, 1/1250s, taken from car.
Cropped, curves, sharpened, BG NR in PS CS5.
Any criticisms / suggestions / comments appreciated. Reposts welcome.

[keith mitchell]

Hi Tim, welcome to this forum I am a new member myself and have found it very good with lots of honest critique and helpful tips.
I like your image very much nice BG the birds pose is good but the bird does look a tiny bit soft on the head but bear in mind that could be down to my viewing.
Keith.:S3:

[Faraaz Abdool]

Whoa, this is great. Lovely shot with prey item. Sharpness looks OK to me. Shooting at 1/1250s I may have waited for an action shot, maybe some sparrow flesh being splattered or something :-). That 1Dx high ISO performance always amazes me.

[MohsenVahedipour]

Great capture for the first post. Excellent pose & HA with nice prey item. TFS

[Emanuel Tiberi]

Great picture. I don't know why, but the image of the dead bird looks great for the composition.
May be I would add a little more space on the left.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Tim, a big welcome to BPN, and hope you enjoy the participation between all the members. The angled pose works well, and I like that we can see a bit of his meal in his beak. Lovely smooth BG too. The perch is not ideal, but at least he perched where we can see the rest of his meal. I feel the kestrel is a touch soft, and would add some space on the LHS.

[John Robinson]

Stuart- On my gear the shot looks quite bright and I reckon if you tweak it in levels - dropping the gamma and sliding the lft level in a tad it looks a lot better(and sharper).
Just my humble opinion.
Cheers
JR

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi Tim, welcome to BPN and a great first post. Nice bird and good behavior capture. How big a crop is it? There is not a lot of details in the head, so it could be due to softness, a big crop, or high ISO, I'm not sure. Tthe image looks a tad flat to me and could benefit from a little more contrast. I'd wish for a little more space on the left and less on the right. Loi

[Marina Scarr]

Welcome to BPN and congrats on a terrific first post!!! Super looking bird and love to see him feeding on your pests!!! I would do a bit more sharpening on your bird. You have a lovely background (BG) and super pose on the bird.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Welcome to BPN Tim!! Fantastic sighting you got here, I like the mangled sparrow with its feet sticking out. The kestrel looks great too (and in better shape ha! ha!) but I agree it could stand a bit more sharpening for web presentation. Not the best of perches, but still an opportunity not to be missed...