White-tailed kite interaction

A juvenile had just gotten a treat from a parent when a sibling decided to check it out. I wish the incoming bird had been higher -- in the next frame it is in the tree and the first one is on its way out of the frame. They move fast. Not much context here -- this much sky is a little boring, but that's what was offered.

I did another version with sky added on top and the incoming bird moved up so it is aiming right for the one with the vole. But thought the original might be more appreciated here.

Canon 5D Mk III, 600mm II. Big Gitzo with Wimberley II. ISO 800, f/4.5, 1/4000,sec. Could have had a smaller aperture but I was experimenting whether higher SS would give more sharpness; the day before I'd been seeing slight streaks in some catchlights. Only about at 10% crop; just a little off the top and bottom. Basic LR adjustments then to PS CS 6 for NR on the BG and some darkening of the bird on the left with a curve; it was brighter than the other one due to its pose.

Excellent interaction of juveniles you have captured here. Love the full wings stretches, open mouths, stretched talons and perch.
I like the vole' face is towards the viewers. Love the frame.

Regards,
Satish.

nice interaction,love the vole facing us,bird on the left,heads a bit soft but legs and nearest wing good detail.thanks.

Great interaction and nice image. Nice colours to the image in what looks like to be reasonable light. I may have gone for a larger DOF Perhaps about f7.1 to get more detail in both birds, your SS should have allowed it and you had a little more ISO to compensate with as well. The whites and the highlights look a little hot in places, im sure you could recover this somewhat. Otherwise great image.

What a terrific opportunity these kites have been for you, Diane. Love this action/behavior and seeing both kids in the same frame with good angles on both and decent light. The IQ isn't looking too good on either bird, Diane, but esp not on the left bird. I was surprised to see it was only a 10% crop so I am thinking you didn't have enough DOF. You appear to have been focused on the right bird which has more details but I am seeing halos/artifacts around the right bird and the left bird's head.

Have you calibrated your lens to your camera? This could be part or all of your sharpness problem.

Hi Diane,
The left bird is way out of focus and since the action is more interesting on the kite with the vole I would crop/clone out the bird on the left.
The light was not your friend and I would try to lighten the shadowed side of the kite's head and tone down the hot whites on the neck,
Gail. Too bad that the nictitating membrane is covering the birds left eye.

I like the action here, the open beaks add a lot of character to the image
you have good suggestions above

I agree I could have had more DOF for this interaction, and probably didn't need that much SS, but I had about 2 microseconds to even get it in the frame. I was experimenting with aperture, as most of the shots of these guys are far enough away that DOF is not a major factor. The bird on the left was obviously out of the focal plane, but nothing I could do about it. I thought it was interesting enough to present the interaction. The single bird taking off isn't a great image.

I think I usually manage a reasonable aperture, depending on the situation, but sometimes you're set for one thing when a different thing comes along.

I did lighten the shadows, considerably. When I'm shooting at this location I arrive before sunrise (which entails getting up at 4:30 and getting dressed on the way to the floor) but sometimes the action continues after the light has gotten too harsh.

I tried what seems to be common practice here, and sharpened (slightly) the JPEG, but it really gave a bad appearance to the right bird's face and the tree, and did, as pointed out, create subtle halos. I'll have to mask it if I do it again.

I have done very careful focus calibration with every lens I have, and with all TC combinations, and repeated them several different times with consistent results. My focus problem has been with the camera loosing focus in situations where I don't think it should, with moving subjects. I think I have found the answer. I'm just about to review yesterday's shoot more carefully to be sure and if I'm right I'll post the answer.

Great interaction Diane and funny expressions. I find it heartbreaking when I had an amazing image in my hands yet I get home and find I didn't have enough DOF. I have learned that I need much more with my 500 than I did with the 300 of course but It takes a while to sink in. Still a very cool image

I had almost always been shooting at something more like f/8, but somebody here said I "should be shooting wide open with that lens." I was experimenting with that idea. I have now rejected it except in cases where a BG needs to be as OOF as possible and I have time to adjust the aperture. There is obviously no time to change anything when something like this happens. I'm not sure that even f/16 would have helped a lot here, but I do wish I hadn't been where I was.