For Kaustubh.....Australian Kestrel (male)

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

After a few months of thinking and preparing, my work had paid off this morning with this image. I set up a plain perch along a highway where the birds live and also nest currently. They used to perch on ugly, metal picket fence posts which were not photogenic. The image I posted a couple of weeks ago of a male braking is this male. :) For the past two weeks both sexes use the perch regularly with the male less perturbed than his mate. I will try for a more exiting pose soon. Some may comment on the position of the head and the bill merging with the body, but I am OK with it this way as the distinction is clear.

I was at this spot yesterday walking my dogs, sans camera, so I could walk to within 33' (or 10 meters for the rest of the world) of him. The light was rubbish, but this morning the fog started to rise with a little bit of soft light coming through the blanket. This is the result. 80% of FF.

30D, 300/4L IS + 1/4TC, ISO500, f/11, 1/800th, +1EC, HH

[Colin Driscoll]

Nice light and good to have that setup work so well. Could do with about a cm cut off the top IMO. Lovely image mate! HT is OK too.

[Marina Scarr]

Well, it seems your work has definitely paid off. I love the pose, the details in the feathers, the ruffled feathers and the sharpness of this capture. The HA works great for me. It may not be exciting in terms of action, but I would be extremely proud of this one.

M

[Randy Stout]

Akos:

The light is lovely, like a giant softbox!

I like the fluffed feathers, nice feet and talons.

Good job on working this situation, and hope to see more.

Randy

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Thx Akos. This does encourage me, sure. I should do something for the kestrels here.

IQ is terrific here....great whites. If mine, I'd move the kestrel a little up in the frame. Loved the pose.

[Christopher Marek]

Thx Akos. This does encourage me, sure. I should do something for the kestrels here.

IQ is terrific here....great whites. If mine, I'd move the kestrel a little up in the frame. Loved the pose.
I think it would make a great postage stamp.

[Craig Brelsford]

This is a useful study of the Australian kestrel. What it lacks in excitement it makes up for in image quality. Pretty good angle.

[Stu Bowie]

Pose works for me Bro, especially the HA. The merging doesnt distract at all. I like the feather detail, and well done on thinking out the box to create a more natural perch. I would like to see how you set the perch up. Well done.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I would like to see how you set the perch up. Well done.

Thanks a ton bro. Appreciate the kind comments. I started to see them perching on star picket fence posts and on road signs - see here (http://amatteroflight.com/gallery2/d/4391-1/Australian-Kestrel_0416_001.jpg) - then I figured out that since they sit and scan an area, if I attach a nice-ish looking perch with cable ties to one of the posts, they may use it. It took them about two weeks to start using it. Well two weeks because I don't go past every morning and they may have started to perch on it much quicker. I will now perhaps work on adding some flowers a la Alan Murphy's perches. But I am not sure about the reality of it, since most images of Aussie birds I have seen with set-up perches and flowers looked rubbish and unrealistic IMO.

Here is how it looks from about 50m away.

[Stu Bowie]

Hey Bro, I had no idea it would look like this. Yeah, they will use this, as its much higher than the fence posts. Good thinking mate. With regards to getting the shots, are you in your vehicle, or are you able to walk up to them slow enough to get close enough?

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Surprisingly the car scares him off. I am able to walk very, very close. I was again out visiting him on dusk (it;s now dark, 20:30 at night here) but after the sun dipped behind the mountains he was sitting there, I walked up to him in a straight line; albeit slowly and again I was within ten meters of him. No camera, just a wonderful, trusting experience. I took some cr@ppy video with my phone just for the record but the experience, the trust he gives me is wonderful. I really respect it and walked off after a few minutes of talking to him just to show that I was no danger. :) WOW!

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Thanks Ákos for your 'the making of' info. Beautiful crisp image of the Kestrel. I was wondering if you are able to get the forest background in ?

Thanks Peter. Probably if I stand on a ladder as my relatively short FL means I have to be close so I get a steeper angle of inclination than with say an 800mm lens. But I will check, as the BG is fog here and I may just get the green yet. :( Not sure if he would like me on a ladder. See how it all pans out. I just posted a poopy video as well to my blog showing how close I was at sunset tonight. :)

[denise ippolito]

Awesome work Akos. The pose and perch along w/ the sky all came together nicely.

[Jim Crosswell]

Great IQ, pose and head angle. I like the story and seeing the perch you created. Well done Akos!

[Geoff Warnock]

thanks for the excellent write-up of your planning and execution. It ended up in a great pic, and I'll be on the look out for such opportunities myself.

[Sid Garige]

Awesome job and wonderful execution.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Akos, great preparation and the result pays off. Thanks for the additional info too.

BTW I like the head angle and there is no merging of the bill as there is pale feathers on either side to clearly make the tip visible. I get excited as much by well done portraits as by action images:cool:.

Well done!!

[Mark Young]

Lovely Akos! I like the details and pose here. Nice also to see a male. We have a resident female at Longy but hard to find a male anywhere close by.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Thanks everyone for the encouragment. I went again this morning and had a blast for an hour. He was there, and I watched him hunt (mole cricket) he brought it back to the perch, bit it in half and took it to the nest about 100m away. Then returned immediately. Then he preened, scratched, pooped, yawned, ejected three pellets and even let me get to around 5m away!!! I managed a full head/shoulders portrait of this stunning bird. I will post more images in due course. :)