American Kestrel

[David Salem]

This is the female Kestrel that I have been having a great time with this season. Looks like she has become a regular on BPN due to some BPN friends coming out to see her this year.
She is very used to me and my truck and after two months of hanging around the same spot, I have many different shots of her. She is one of the prettiest females you could ever ask to photograph.
I love trying to get cool take off shots as she hunts. This is one of my favorites. Hope you like it.

1DMkIV---700mm---f6.3---ss1/3200---ISO640---HH from truck @ 3:45pm---20% crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input. I appreciate it.

David

[Holger Leyrer]

Oh, i like it. The starting pose is superb. Details, BG and colors, too. Very good work David.

[Henry Domke]

A perfect expression of liftoff.
There is no weight, just the expectation of powerful wingbeats.
Superb!

[Andrew Merwin]

She's a beauty & so it the image. Great pose with the raised wings & a wonderful BG.

[Jim Crosswell]

Beautiful image David! I like the take-off pose, HA, exposure, IQ, details and complimentary BG.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Stunning image, Dave. As good as a take-off shot can get. Perfect timing, head turn, wing position, graduated bg and techs. No visible shadows because of the perfect light angle. You obviously positioned yourself for that.
You make it look easy, but this is beautifully planned and executed.
Hope to meet this beauty the next time I'm up there.

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone for the comments. .

Sid, thanks for the nice comments . I was really bummed that after two months straight the day you showed up she was gone.
Only saw her once for a few minutes a week ago so it's good to know she still okay. See ya soon.

[Doug Brown]

A perfect take-off shot! Beautiful!

[John Robinson]

David
Absolutely perfect Light etc and everything. My only boring old thought is the background - and I know I keep on about this. The plain backdrops don,t seem to tell me about the area or habitat. I know its just a fad of mne ,but we are asked to be honest. It is still a superb shot whatever.
Cheers
John

[Loi Nguyen]

David, you are killing me with your kestrel shots! So beautiful, perfect pose, great light and you aligned the truck so that there was absolutely no shadow on the far wing. BG looks good to me, no distraction, and natural. TFS. Loi

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments.

Johnny, thanks for your comment. Just to clarify I don't use backdrops if that's what you were thinking. If not, then I understand. The reason allot of my shots have this kind of smooth BG is that I live in a area that is pretty wide open and has very little trees and shrubs. When I see a bird sitting on a tree or post there is usually hundreds of feet/meters of wide open fields behind it so most of my shots look this way. It being natural is what makes it so nice to me and when you look thru the view finder and see your subject with a nice smooth colorful BG behind it is what its all about for me. I understand your train of thought and respect it and I too like shots showing the habitat the subject lives in. Its almost hard for me to get those shots in my area, especially shooting at 700-840mm and almost wide open. Thanks again.

[dankearl]

So good it looks set up!
Next time I am in Riverside to visit my Daughter, you are going to have to show me your area......

[arash_hazeghi]

a perfect take off shot. The background is one of the strong points of this shot.

[Frank Schauf]

Wow, great perch, pose and colors.

[christopher galeski]

superb image,great BG,good take off pose,sharp with great detail,nice light,the image is pure quality.well done.

[keith mitchell]

David like it? I love everything about it, please don't change a thing,IQ ,light,BG,all superb.


Keith.

[gail bisson]

Another beautiful kestrel image.
I love the dramatic takeoff pose and the IQ and the light.
This lovely lady is making you the most popular guy on BPN!!
Gail

[Jonathan Ashton]

Terrific shot - couldn't ask for better, great timing and beautiful pose, gorgeous colours a beautiful image -it would make a great print too!

[Dvir Barkay]

Very pretty, great pose, wing position, sharpness and colors. The only nitpick might be a bit more room in front of the Kestrel to give it something to fly into.

[Bill Dix]

David, you're really getting your money's worth out of this beauty. This one is superb, with perfect moment of take-off, and just the right HA. And everything else. Well done indeed.

[mohammad reza shahab]

great perch, pose and BG.

[Glenn Conlan]

The most photographed bird on BPN except for some of the Snowys. We sure have a great library of shots from this falcon. This is one of those special ones. Great job Dave. See you soon.

Glenn

[John Robinson]

Thanks David
No I wasn't assuming anything or expecting you to change anything just explaining my very personal point of view about backgrounds. In country like that I can fully understand and I would have to do the same.
Cheers
John

[Karl Egressy]

Wow, it doesn't get any better than this perfect take off pose picture, David. Amazing work!!!!!

[Ashleigh Scully]

This is amazing. Really love the bokeh too.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi David, just love the light, which in turn has shown up the detail and colours so well. Perfect take off pose with the raised wings, and the slight head turn is the cherry. I like your comp too. Well captured.

Im going to make the same offer again - some kingfishers for this beauty.

[Arthur Morris]

Wow, wow, wow! Ditto all the positives above. In short, this one definitely does not suck! I'd wish only for a cleaner perch. Killer timing and BKGR. Way to go.

[Arthur Morris]

ps: is this a crop from a horizontal original?

[David Salem]

Thanks very much everyone for the nice comments!!

Stuart, Ok, I dont have one Kingfisher in my files. When you make it to California you got it and when I make it to OZ I will look you up for some KF shots. Thanks as always for the comment.

Artie, Yes this was shot in a horizontal landscape format then cropped to a vertical. Thanks for the nice comment also, I appreciate it.

[Richard Flack]

Stunning image David!

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone for the comments!