Brahminy Kite

[Paul Burdett]

Hi all,
Managed to get this Brahminy Kite in flight recently. Unfortunately I did not get the Kite fully in the frame, so chose this crop. Cheers.

D500, 500PF, 1/3200th sec, f5.6, iso1250, HH. processed in ACR, PS, Topaz DN.

[Ian McLachlan]

Hi Paul,I love these birds. Unfortunately they never come this far South.You must have been pretty close.The clouds add to the frame beautifully.I reckon you might shade down the beak a bit as on my monitor it looks slightly overblown.The sun was getting up a fair bit as well ,so its dififcult. She's come off a nest so keep at it .Lucky you .Are the youngsters around yet.

[gail bisson]

I like the bird and the crop.
But, I wonder what is going on with the face. It looks as though there is a film over it. Looks like you were trying to tame the blown out whites and got that odd result.
Is the sky a "sky replacement?
Gail

[David Roach]

Beautiful underside view with perfect HA for same. Like what you've done with the crop and great details. TFS

ps
That eye, those talons...

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks all for the feedback.
Ian: I agree regarding the beak. I haven't seen the youngsters...I often see these Kites at this location, but I don't often get close up opportunities...they're normally high up in the sky! Cheers.
Gail: OK...I'm guilty:bugeyed:...trying out Photoshop's new "sky replacement" feature...thought it looked quite natural, but your keen eye picked it up. The original sky is boring. Yes, I see the "film" you refer to, and probably due to trying to reduce the highlights on the face.
David: Thanks as always for your comments/feedback.

[John Mack]

A neat looking bird. I like the pose and the stare from the bird. I also wondered if the sky was replaced. But hey you wanna try things out i say why not. The whites look a little hot.

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks John. Yes, the sky replacement feature in PS can work quite well, but I'm not sure I'll use it much...works better for landscape images I feel. The whites are not blown according to the white values, but I agree they look a little hot. Cheers.