Caracara

[eric edwards]

Shot from my vehicle. I was slowly approaching this bird on a fence post and shooting photos. He took off and flew parallel to me giving a nice profile shot.

Should I try to fix the damaged primary feathers? Do they detract from the photo to the point that most pros would fix them?



Canon 7D & 20-200 f4 with 1.4 extender
263mm
ISO 640
f/6.3
1/5000
50% crop
PP in Lightroom, some NR and sharpening

Thanks in advance for any comments.

[Robert vanMierop]

That's a very nice image. I see them often around Viera. I'd leave the feathers as they are. Maybe a slightly tighter crop? Cara caras are beautiful birds!

[eric edwards]

That's a very nice image. I see them often around Viera. I'd leave the feathers as they are. Maybe a slightly tighter crop? Cara caras are beautiful birds!

I was actually at Viera Wetlands the morning this was taken. We found this bird later that afternoon on Hwy 60.

Here's a tighter crop, thanks.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Eric, I like the crop of your repost. The image is nice and sharp, and the exposure and color look good to me. How cool to get this bird in flight, well done! Nature is not always perfect and I would not alter the damaged wings to make them fit a human ideal.

[Marina Scarr]

The repost looks really good, Eric. I love way the Caracara has its head turned just a little toward you really drawing the viewer into the frame. The feathers look just fine as they are. Well done!

[AdamStuckert]

I really like the repost. My tiny critique is that to me the bill seems to blend in with the background and I realize I'm 100% nitpicking. I'm not sure, but if you darken the background a bit it might help differentiate the bill and background, which would bring out the bird a tiny bit more in my opinion.

Great image!