Common Kestrel - Male

A Common Kestrel – Male on a lantana bush in my hometown - Bangalore.

Couldn’t go higher to get an unhindered view of the tail as this image was made handheld, sitting
on a scooterette with my legs balancing the vehicle & the upper torso turned 90 degree
towards the right. Also, I was parked just at the edge of a 15 ft dug up pit and any slip ups,
the kestrel would have given me a decent burial:S3:

Made with a Canon 450D + 150-500mm.
Exif : F6.3 / ISO 400 / SS 1/250 @ 500 mm ( shot vertical). Manual / Eval
Levels / Crop / USM & NR on BG.

Comments & critiques most welcome.

Glad you survivded the making of this fine image.:tinysmile_shy_t:

I don't mind the tail being partially hidden. Enough is visible and has room in the foliage. Love the over the shoulder look at you, plus the nice background. I might try burning the back feathers, as they seem a little light on my monitor, but maybe that's a difference in birds. Really a nice image.

Very nice Girish, glad that you've made it to tell the tale :bg3: .... A fine image of this beauty from H'gatta...

Picture perfect. I love the glance over the shoulder as given by red carpet celebrities posing except the kestrel looks better. I love the transitions in background colour from green to brown. The fact that the tail and primaries are covered a bit is of no consequence. This would make a very nice feature photograph in a book or magazine and of course a wall hanging. If you think you should have gone higher then you have been reading too many books. This is excellent!

A really sweet image. I would remove the poo and add some black to the neutrals.

Classic looking back pose, nicely captured.

This a good image with the pale colors of the bird and the light green BG. You have managed to click when the bird had turned which has the eye very visible.

Hiran

very nice looking back pose,excellent light and BG.