American Kestrel

[David Salem]

This is the bird we fondly named Lady Kestrel. She has been coming back to the same location for three years in a row and now stays throughout the whole winter. Each year she seems to stay for a longer period of time. I guess she really likes the sunny Southern California winters :S3:
This year she stayed for almost 5 months. She starts out hunting dragonflies and insects in the warmth of the fall, then once all the insects are gone, she concentrates on Savannah sparrows, Wrens and Butter butts. This was taken two years ago as she took off to chase a sparrow. This shot was used for the cover of a book.

1DX---840mm---f6.3---ss1/3200---ISO640---HH@7:45am---40%crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input. I appreciate it.

David

[Glenn Conlan]

Great post Dave! You nailed a great take-off shot with perfect head position and wing display

[Doug Brown]

What a fantastic flight pose! And you nailed sharpness on the head. Wish this one was mine! One thing I do notice is a slight greenish cast to the bird.

[Lorant Voros]

Pretty impressive, super IQ, awesome pose, nice blurred wing tips and it is looking at you. Very well done.

[David Salem]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the nice comments.

Doug, I have printed this a few times but never noticed the bird actually having a green cast. I don't see it on my monitor. Also, as you know, in my area the bird is usually a long ways from the BG so picking up the cast from the BG would be unlikely. I will look at the finished TIFF that I printed and double check. Thanks for looking out.

[arash_hazeghi]

Remember this one! This excellent dynamic frame Dave, everything comes together, IQ and sharpness are top notch.

it does have a green cast on my screen too, and some posterization in the BG which could be from JPEG compression both should be easy to fix.

perfect.

[David Salem]

Thanks for the comment Arash. Glad you like it. Thanks for the conformation too. I will check it out and add a few tweaks. Posterization is hard to control in some images. As you know, some BGs just want to posterize no mater what when you compress them. Thanks again

[Ihtisham Kabir]

A superb shot of the kestrel. Everything comes together from the catchlight to the wingtips and everything in between.

[keith mitchell]

David I would have a big problem trying to find fault with this excellent image.

Find this interesting and gives me something to think about( Posterization is hard to control in some images. As you know, some BGs just want to posterize no mater what when you compress them.)

Keith.

[gail bisson]

A wonderful topside view of this beautiful kestrel.
The way she is looking at you is superb. Tack sharp, exposure perfect, beautiful clean BG and the blurred wingtips add a nice sense of movement.
Can completely understand why this was chosen to be a book cover.
Agree with you about posterization issues in BG- greens and dark blues are the worst.
My solution to this has been to use tonal contrast in Nik Efex Pro. I select the BG and move all the sliders ( the midtone and dark slider ) to the left until I am happy with the blur.
Try it, you will like it!!

[Joseph Przybyla]

I echo all the previous comments. Thank you for sharing, David.

[David Salem]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I appreciate it.

Gail, thanks so much for the tip! I will definitely try it.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dave, great head turn and eye contact, sharp where it counts, and showing off the full wingspread. Lovely smooth BG, and as I am not familiar with this bird, I cant comment on the cast. I do see the posterization in the BG. :w3

[annmpacheco]

super image Dave, fab head slant and topside detail w just enough blur to "swish by..." wowsa

[Jonathan Ashton]

I cheated I have read some previous critiques! I see posterisation in the background but must confess I would have missed it! I am not surprised the image has been put to good use it is a cracker. Such details - excellent.

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the comments.

[William Dickson]

Very well done David, I love the flight pose, and the bird shows so well against the BG.

TFS

Will

[steve torna]

I like as well as everyone for all the same reasons; I would like to see a RP using Gail's suggestion.

[dankearl]

Excellent shot Dave, minor issues noted, I am sure you can fix them.....

[Arthur Morris]

Love the pose and the image. The raised head and the shape of the tail are too good. And so is the BKGR. Was this a crop from behind the bird? a

[Marina Scarr]

This is one heck of a frame, David. I didn't believe it had a green cast until I brought it into PS so kudos to those who saw it. Love the way the raptor is looking right at you and the varied BG adds interest.

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone. I'm glad you like the frame.

[David Salem]

Marina, thanks, I will give it a little tweak.

Arthur, yes she had just taken off and I have one comp with the branch in and one with it cropped out. I might have cloned out a little bit of the branch also.
Thanks and hope you are doing well