Swallow-tailed Kite

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Hi everyone.

I have been trying to get images of birds in flight but it proves to be very difficult. For this bird a shot many frames and was able to only get a few decent ones.
The light was not good and it was very hazy but I wanted to give it a try any ways.

I had to use a very high ISO but noise is not so evident, I did not applyed any noise reduction at all.

Please feel free to share your experience on how to get the most when the opportunities arise. Thanks in advance.

For this one
Canon Mark III
Canon 300 f/4+1.4TC
HH
Full frame
ISO 2500
SS1/1600sec.
f/6.3
Central sensor only
Lightroom and PS CS5 for sharpening and web presentation.
Fill flash but I don't know how much.

Just as Doug Brown says, this birds start to fly when the sun is high in the sky making it very easy to burn the whites.

[Joe Senzatimore]

Might crop it as a vertical. Too much negative space. wing position is very nice.

[Jim Crosswell]

I think the haze is hurting the IQ on this one. I agree about too much negative space and would lean towards a more squarish crop. Look forward to seeing more future attempts.

[Gerald Kelberg]

In my seldom humble opinion, space isn't always 'negative'! It is a commonly used term that I really dislike. I like to see a bit of space around the bird... Yes, you could crop it tighter, but that isn't the shot you had in mind!

I like it! It is an interesting variety of bird and the shape is quite special - with the beautiful tail. I would like to see more detail in the darker areas but I can enjoy the image enough because of that beautiful outline.

Thanks for sharing.

Gerald