Pillow with a ruby

[arash_hazeghi]

Here is another frame of the white-tailed kite, this is a very young bird as evident by the brown patches on the chest. It is nearly impossible to get close to these birds, a decade of experience has thought me a trick or two but it is mostly sheer luck. I was quite happy with this frame


shot with D850 and the 600 E FL + TC-14E III f/5.6 at 1/4000 sec ISO 1000 hand held in strong wind and processed with C1P. Hope you like it

[David Roach]

Your description fits perfectly. Luck my a**, opportunity met preparation... Sublime frame overall. TFS

[Aditya Sridhar]

This is stunning as usual Arash! Great detail and the exposure is perfect. Love the background tones. I like how the bird is perched on just one leg - I wonder if the second leg was tucked inside the feathers or if the bird was missing a leg? More room on the left would be nice compositionally.

[Ivan Sjogren]

I really apprieiate the work behind this image Arash. Very nicely done!
The light is superb, great background and an especially beautiful perch. The whites looks great too.
If anything I'm doubting the comp a little bit, it feels like you need more room the the right when the bird is looking in that direction. I understand that you want to show the whole perch though.

[John Mack]

Really like the shape of the perch on this one. Nice light and pose. The killer background tops it off.

[Paul Burdett]

Another killer photo Arash. Love the soft feather detail on the right hand side just above the perch, and the sharpness of the bird's face. I'm fine with the composition. Love the perch and the BG.

[dankearl]

I sort of agree with Ivan on the comp but I think you used 2 X 3 std vertical which
I also try to use. So I think the comp you chose is best as I don't like non std. crops
and I would change nothing else.
You can tell me if I am wrong.
The bird is killer....

[arash_hazeghi]

Thank you all

[arash_hazeghi]

I did put the bird a bit more to the left but I didn't like how the perch was cut off so I decided on this rather center comp.

[arash_hazeghi]

This is stunning as usual Arash! Great detail and the exposure is perfect. Love the background tones. I like how the bird is perched on just one leg - I wonder if the second leg was tucked inside the feathers or if the bird was missing a leg? More room on the left would be nice compositionally.

Aditya, thanks. raptors usually tuck one foot in when resting, I have never seen a raptor in the wild with only one foot, it wouldn't survive long.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Arash, what not to like. Beautiful bird, proportionally sized perch, complimentary background, exposure and background pretty much perfect. Thank you for sharing.

[Alex Becker]

You must have been over the moon with this. Love the blown feathers. Great detail and look at the talons. Awesome perch and BG. Pretty sweet across the board. TFS

[Arthur Morris]

I really apprieiate the work behind this image Arash. Very nicely done!
The light is superb, great background and an especially beautiful perch. The whites looks great too.
If anything I'm doubting the comp a little bit, it feels like you need more room on the right when the bird is looking to our left (sic). I understand that you want to show the whole perch though.

Hi Ivan and Dan, I disagree on the image design but only 100%. I believe that you are missing the skilfull way that Arash handled the top end of the perch by getting it all in with a small border. While the bird is great this image is just as much about the perch ... That is why I cleaned up the lower part of the perch in the left corner by eliminating some branch nubs and two shadows. Otherwise , this is a superb image as noted by all.

with love, artie

ps: I used the Patch Tool, Divide and Conquer (using the Clone Stamp Tool), Content Aware Fill, and the Spot Healing Brush all (plus tons and tons more) as detailed in The BIRDS AS ART Current Workflow e-Guide (Digital Basics II) (https://birdsasart-shop.com/the-birds-as-art-current-workflow-e-guide-digital-basics-ii/).

[arash_hazeghi]

thanks Artie I missed the shadows! it's all about small details