Lesser Prairie-chicken fight

[Trey Barron]

I have not been on here in a long while, but I am finally getting out with the camera on a somewhat regular basis. I hope to participate a bit more. This photo is from last weekend. Canon 1dIV, 500f4+1.4x, f8@1250sec and iso800. Let me know what you think.

[Sachin Saraf]

Nice action captured here love the visible eye of the top bird and it is sharp...TFS very well done.

[arash_hazeghi]

interaction is great so is the light. I just wish they were sharper. bumping up the ISO and moving to a higher shutter speed would have helped.

TFS nice work

[MohsenVahedipour]

Great action & shooting angle. Excellent capture.

[David Salem]

Great action captured. Techs look good and the birds are sharp, especially the top one. Well done. How are the lessers doing in your area. I used to go to the panhandle to see chickens since the mid 80s, then they crashed in the mid 90s. Havent been in 6 years.

[Jeannean Ryman]

Very nice action shot. Would have been nice if the bottom one wasn't partially obstructed by weeds, but that's the environment. It might just be my monitor, but it also appears to be bordering on "too bright". Maybe a bit of mid-tone burn would help bring out the colors more.

[Trey Barron]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and comments. I will bring down the mid-tones a bit. The birds in the Texas panhandle are still holding on, but the last 2 years of extreme drought has had big impacts. It seems that they are at least stable and increase in wet years (if we ever have any of those), but the numbers are nowhere near what they were in the 80s and 90's. They are currently proposed for listing as threatened under the endangered species act.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the action, setting and composition. I find the image a little too bright as well. Well done Trey!

[Daniel Cadieux]

Fantastic action, composition, details! I agree with toning down the brights and if you are into that type of editting I would also eliminate the bright stem at left touching the wing. Looking forward to your renewed participation!!

[Tom Rambaut]

So much potential as a subject matter. Would tone down the white areas and certainly have pushed the iso up to get more shutter speed. I guess this sort of action is very fast. With the Camera body you are using the higher ISO should not be too much of an issue. Still a image I would be happy with.

[Troy Lim]

Agree with Arash's assessment. With that camera, I would think ISO1600 still gives you a usable image. Nice moment for sure.

[Marina Scarr]

Terrific moment/action/behavior captured here, Trey. It's a powerful moment and, while I would have liked it sharper, it works as is. Would probably sharpen the head of the top bird a little more and work on toning down the whites. Agree with Arash's advice to bump up your ISO. Your camera can handle higher ISOs, esp in these bright conditions.

[Trey Barron]

I agree about pushing the ISO. I am still trying to get over old habits coming from the 50d and 40d, but am realizing the potential. I appreciate the feedback.

[Diane Miller]

I love the moment you caught and the image quality! It's really only the bottom half that is too bright so I'd tone down just the bottom with a soft-edged masked curve, like a grad ND filter used upside-down.