Male Kestrel Takes Off

[Loi Nguyen]

This image was taken with a 70-200mmf2.8 II + 1,4X III. I decided to give it a try with the kestrel.

1DX
70-200 + 1.4X @ 280mm
1/3200
f5.6
ISO-1600
Handheld

Cropped about 50% of original.
RAW conversion in LR5, Curves, Sharpen.


Thank you for your comments.

Loi

[Glenn Conlan]

IQ is very good considering the crop factor. The 70-200 wtc worked well .

Glenn

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent timing great sharpness on the head.

[Bob Serling]

The sharpness on the head is excellent, but I would have expected less wing blur with a shutter speed of 1/3200. I'm wondering if the focus point was below the head as the leaves seem to be sharp, but the rear and tail are softer.

[Loi Nguyen]

The sharpness on the head is excellent, but I would have expected less wing blur with a shutter speed of 1/3200. I'm wondering if the focus point was below the head as the leaves seem to be sharp, but the rear and tail are softer.

Hi Bob, the focus point was on the kestrel back actually. The wing blur is due to DOF of f5.6, not motion, I think. I was a fraction to slow and missed the pose when the wings were up. Loi

[keith mitchell]

Loi interesting reading re the focus point, the head and most of the body looks very good, afraid I don't have the knowledge to make any constructive suggestions, I would be very pleased if this was mine.

Keith.

[Ashleigh Scully]

Hi Loi -

Really nice capture and the timing is really cool - his talons are still on the branch! I kind of agree on the oof wing especially in the back, but the head is in such sharp focus that I don't really notice it. Great job.

[John Rowell]

Very nice sharpness on the head and nice eye contact. Exposure is right on. Also really like the timing of your shot, good one.

[Richard Unsworth]

Big thumbs up on this one, great timing' love the angle and that talon. Skittish, seldom allow close approach. IMHO
Watch them every day here but never got one to compete with this tfs

[Arthur Morris]

Yes to your great timing. Were you on foot or in the car? Hard to believe that you can get this close to a kestrel even in a vehicle... You did a good job with the less than ideal light. The perch is a bit less than ideal. I would love to see a version with a wider crop left and below so as to include the complete leaf along the lower frame-edge.....

[Loi Nguyen]

Yes to your great timing. Were you on foot or in the car? Hard to believe that you can get this close to a kestrel even in a vehicle... You did a good job with the less than ideal light. The perch is a bit less than ideal. I would love to see a version with a wider crop left and below so as to include the complete leaf along the lower frame-edge.....

Artie, here is the full frame version. I cloned out a distracting branch on the lower right corner. This kestrel winters in a community garden near I live and is used to have people around. I could approach him on foot no problem. The perch is an issue in this garden as he likes to perch high up on man made structures and launch his hunt from there. This is about the only natural perch that he occasionally sits on. The light was OK, but I was off angle since I could anticipate which way he would launch himself from here and I would rather catch him with a clear head turn than align myself with the light. I will try to catch him again next time with the 500f4 without clipping wings. Loi

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the timing, sharpness, exposure and talons. Nice image Loi!

[Holger Leyrer]

Perfect timing. The start pose is wonderful. Like all :S3: