Crested Caracara

[Lana Hays]

It's been almost a year since I've gone out with my camera equipment. I've had an incredibly difficult teaching year and lost all desire to get back out in the field. I'm now in Florida for spring break and am hoping to get my interest back. A target bird for a long time has been the Crested Caracara. When I got up this morning, I decided to make the long drive to Viera Wetlands before the storms and was rewarded with the youngsters spending some time in the grass. Many thanks to all of you who came to my aid with Caracara sightings/locations.

Canon 1DMkIIN, 500mmL IS, 2XTC, beanbag from window
ISO 400, f/8, ss 1/320 (I almost never use anything below f/11 with the 2XTC but thought the f/8 would be better)
RAW conversion, cropped from a horizontal

Let me know if this looks right in color. I have a new MacBook Pro. I just installed CS4 and am wading my way through it so I don't know if I have the settings right or not.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Good to see you post again. I like the soft light, details and exposure control look good, too. I might crop a bit off the left to get the bird out of the center. Enjoy your spring break!

[denise ippolito]

Lana, It's a beautifully exposed image with very nice details-the soft greens add alot to the overall composition.

[Ramon M. Casares]

Nice, clean, soft (in a good way) and sharp. I love the light, pose, detail, expsure and colors, I might lighten the bright area in the iris just a little bit more. COngratulations!

[Fabs Forns]

I am glad you retook your camera and went hunting for critters.

This is extremely beautiful and love the OOF BG. A good thing you decided to take the long drive.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I do like the image as it is presented here. Glad that you are working your way back to the photography bug. With results such as this, you ought to for sure. Congratulations from me too. Love the soft foreground grasses and the overall soft lighting in your image. :)

[Nate Chappell]

Very pretty Lana, I like the oof fg and soft lighting.

[Steve Canuel]

Very nice. The soft FG, BG, and pastel colors of the face all blend together nicely. Enough sharpness to capture detail yet still retain the overall soft feel to this. Maybe just a touch more contrast/sharpness on the eye?

[Arthur Morris]

Color looks fine and I love the bird in heaven look. Sharpness right on. You might wish to visit www.thework.com (http://www.thework.com) and consider learning to love what is. Doing the work has brought me much peace in my life and as a 23-veteran of the classroom I went through some very tough years in the beginning. Wish that I had known about the work then.

[Marina Scarr]

There is a real "dreamy" quality to this photograph. It's almost as though this little guy/gal is in the clouds. You have captured something special, very different from what we normally see in this forum.

Glad to hear that you are back out in the field. Sometimes getting back in touch with nature is exactly what we need in order to help us through our difficult times. Thank you for sharing.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Wonderful to see you posting Lana and what a beautiful image it is. The soft feel to this puts it over the top for me. Love it !!! Look forward to more :):):)

[Maxis Gamez]

Hi Lana,

Nice to have you back. Love the feel to this one. I would push the colors a little. Love the framing!

[Rosl Roessner]

Hi Lana,
great to see your beautiful post here! The bird looks wonderful soft with it's clean an "new" plumage. Colors are soft and warm. I really like it!