American Kestrel displaying sweetly

[Jack Breakfast]

Hello, gentle folks...I'm delighted to post this picture of a particularly spunky American Kestrel...moments earlier I watched her devour a vole on a different perch and although I naturally snapped that up as quickly as possible, I've opted for the more demure pose seen here...
Taken with the Canon 7D and the 70-200 f4. iso800, 1/800, f4. An overcast day, but obviously I didn't care...
In spite of the somewhat studio-looking nature of the shot, I'll tell you that the good girl was perched in front of Lake Ontario, here in south-west Toronto...if the spirit moves me I'll post one of the grislier shots in the future...

Many thanks for your consideration,
Jack Breakfast

http://www.smallbirdsongs.com

[Sachin Saraf]

Jack that is super shot...Love the Pose and eye contact...

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

That is a super cool pose. I like thye backlighting on the tail feathers. perhaps a little brightening of the face and body may improve this killer shot.

[jack williamson]

This is a very cool image! I agree with lightening the front of the body. Well done.

Jack

[Jack Breakfast]

thanks for the feedback, folks...I may try that...

[arash_hazeghi]

nice eye contact, the head is a bit dark and a there is strong red cast on the Kestrel (surprised no one mentioned) I like the fanned tail but wish the wings were fully open.

[Jack Breakfast]

I am mystified by the hawk man's comment RE strong red cast but nonetheless appreciate his constructivism!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nice shot I have never seen a pose quite like this. I agree there is a red cast, (forgive me if you already know this I am not trying to teach you to suck eggs but if you place the dropper tool on the head when in ACR you will see the reds are quite a bit higher than greens and blues).

[Gary Esman]

Saaaaweeet pose. Love the wings the way they are, if every shot we take the wings are fully extended pretty soon they all look a like. The fantail is very nice. Great job on this!

Gary.

[Karl Egressy]

Very interesting pose indeed, Jack.

[Jack Breakfast]

Very nice shot I have never seen a pose quite like this. I agree there is a red cast, (forgive me if you already know this I am not trying to teach you to suck eggs but if you place the dropper tool on the head when in ACR you will see the reds are quite a bit higher than greens and blues).

But I want to learn how to suck eggs! Ha! That's a turn of phrase that brings a smile. Actually Jonathan, I thank you for the tip. I tend to do almost nothing to these photos in post-processing. I've got Capture One and the first Photoshop CS but may soon upgrade, and I fear if I open that can of worms, I'll go crazy and explode. Now I'll ask this: why is a "red cast" bad? In this instance? You know, I'm familiar with the idea of casts, red, blue, what have you, but I'm quite happy with the way the bird looks, even if he looks a little bit red? Light is light and aesthetically speaking, I have no problems with my little red kestrel? That said, I am going to take this tip to heart, and I really appreciate it. Very much. I have sucked eggs! I am happy!

[arash_hazeghi]

Jack,
Chest and head look red in your photo, it is not the natural color of an American kestrel but the result of camera white balance and post processing.
You can check this by opening the image in photoshop and reading the RGB value by the eye dropper tool

good luck

[Arthur Morris]

Killer pose and yes to the red cast. Balanced the color and cropped a bit to center the bird and get rid of the hot whites on the perch. Sharpened and lightened only the bird. Learned not to try NIK Color Efex Tonal Contrast on a JPEG :S3:.

[Jack Breakfast]

108081

Saint Arthur, glad to hear from you. Just as you posted this I figured I'd post a new version of the shot. Levels adjusted and nothing else. Glad to hear back from the hawk man as well. So...this version basically has a levels boost and nothing more. I'll cautiously add that I care less about capturing the natural essence of a bird's color than (I assume) many of you, but thus far I am finding my experience at BirdPhotographers.Net quite fascinating indeed! Folks are very nice and helpful, that's for sure...

[arash_hazeghi]

Artie's repost solves the color cast and brightness issues.

I am glad you are enjoying BPN. Unlike other forums where all you get is "great shot mate" here you will get useful critique which will actually help improve your photography :)

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Arash, Here is my last repost. De-saturated the REDs 10 points and lightened the face and breast.

[Arthur Morris]

108081

Saint Arthur, glad to hear from you. Just as you posted this I figured I'd post a new version of the shot. Levels adjusted and nothing else. Glad to hear back from the hawk man as well. So...this version basically has a levels boost and nothing more. I'll cautiously add that I care less about capturing the natural essence of a bird's color than (I assume) many of you, but thus far I am finding my experience at BirdPhotographers.Net quite fascinating indeed! Folks are very nice and helpful, that's for sure...

This one looks a lot less RED.... I'd still crop to lose the bright WHITE on the perch.

[Jack Breakfast]

I was just working on this and dropped the reds down -11 myself until the thing looked good. It also gives the BG a pleasing cyan tinge, and who could complain about that? No sense reposting again. But seriously, thanks folks, for the help...I keep thinking about picking up the Nik software but my mind is already screwy and should I start playing around in that playground I'll lose what's left of myself...thanks again...

[arash_hazeghi]

Pane #16 is perfect colors! and a better crop too

It is best to restart from RAW as Artie pointed out....

[Jack Breakfast]

I respectfully disagree about the crop. If there were iron-clad rules to this art & craft, we would all be in the muck. That said, I certainly see the value of such a crop. And yes, absolutely, starting for RAW is the way to go...