Take off

[Stu Bowie]

I visited my favourite location early saturday morning, and couldnt resist my fix of a take off shot. On a previous take off image, some were for including the perch, and some were for leaving it out. In this, I feel there's enough to leave it in. The BG is a distant mountain.

Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon 500mm ( borrowed )
1/1600
F/7.1
ISO 640

Exp Comp +0.33
Rested on top of a wooden fence.

[Arno Ellmer]

Great capture , Stuart ! I am for leaving in the perch .It complements the shot . I love the top view and spread wings with great detail. Sharp where it counts and at 1/1600 just fine to give blur on wings.

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot Stuart.
I really like the top view, wonderful background, great comp, and sharp where it needs to be.
Well done.

[christopher galeski]

very nice Stuart,like the BG,sharp,the perch helps to tell the story.thanks.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Nice take off pose Stewart. Nice top side view with great detail on the body. I don't really mind the motion blur

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Stuart - stunning capture. You timed it just right :) The exposure is dead on and the bg is clean and gorgeous. TFS

[Randy Stout]

Stuart:

The combination of lighting, sharpness, soft BG really make this guy pop. Wing blur fine for me. I like the inclusion of the perch. In a perfect world, perhaps a tiny bit more separation from it, but really outstanding as it!

Well done!

Cheers

Randy

[Marina Scarr]

Terrific take off pose. Motion in wings works for me. Lovely perch and BG. Catch light doesn't look real to my eyes.

[Stu Bowie]

Catch light doesn't look real to my eyes.

Thanks Marina. Im posting the original to show the hint of catchlight as captured. I am in such a hurry to post my image at 5.30am before I go to work, that I forgot to mention that the catchlight was enhanced - maybe too much.

Thanks to everyone else for the feedback and kind words.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Yes the catchlight is enhanced too much, but all else looks fantastic! Good call keeping the perch in here.

[dankearl]

Awesome dive and the catchlight looks fine to me.
Just enough perch separation, also.

[Vivaldo Damilano]

Super sharp Stu, love the wing spread and colors. Great BG and perch, love it well done.

[Satish Ranadive]

Stuart Sir,
Classic take off pose.Very nice composition with interesting perch.
Rest as usual great.Love the frame.

Regards,
Satish.

[Dan Busby]

Great shot Stuart. I will throw my vote for eliminating the perch. For me, it looks too much like another animal with its mouth open and about to grab the bird! I wouldn't have noticed the eye catch enhancement but, of course, now that it has been mentioned I do.

[Grace Scalzo]

Super action image. I love the background, and rather like the perch in this one.

[arash_hazeghi]

love the topside view and BG, I agree the added catch light is a bit unnatural I would remove it. It also looks a bit over sharpened to me, the edges have jagged artifact.

I think your SS was a bit low, you can see the motion blur in the close crop. With the MKIV you could have doubled your shutter speed and pushed the ISO to avoid this issue.

TFS

[Rudi van den Heever]

Great capture Stu! I surely miss that magical place!

[Stu Bowie]

I think your SS was a bit low, you can see the motion blur in the close crop. With the MKIV you could have doubled your shutter speed and pushed the ISO to avoid this issue.

TFS

Thanks Arash. I totally agree, a higher ISO would have given me a faster ss, and probably resulted in a better image with regards to less motion blur. We all learn along the way with new toys.

Thank you all for the feedback and comments. Always appreciated.

[Doug Brown]

Fantastic pose Stuart! I like that even though the wings are fully spread out, the one on the right doesn't merge with the perch. I do agree with the others that a faster shutter speed would have helped with sharpness; with that much light, a higher ISO wouldn't have added much noise at all. And I would enhance the catch light less aggressively.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the take off pose, exposure, perch, BG and composition. Well done Stuart!

[gail bisson]

It has all been said!
Did you like the 500mm?
Gail

[Raymond Lee]

Great capture Stuart. Everything is great, and yes, tone down that catchlight a bit, then it's perfect!

[David Salem]

Great capture. All has been been said. Well done

[Shawn Zierman]

Great image. The weak and strong points well covered already.
The assessment of the perch in pane#14 made me chuckle...that perch does have the
look of some living creature in pursuit of the kingfisher....all the more reason to leave
it in imo.

[Karl Egressy]

Great moment captured, Stuart.