Adult white-tailed kite at 1200mm-with 100% crop

[arash_hazeghi]

This frame is from an adult white-tailed kite. These raptors are extremely skittish and require very long focal lengths to photograph under normal circumstances.



Shot with Canon 1D-X and 600 IS II plus 2X TC III. ISO 1600. f/8 (widest aperture for this combo) at 1/3200sec. Hand hold. processed with DPP 4.15

hope you like it

[John Robinson]

Excellent!
I like some detail in backgrounds however subtle and this one with the gentle graduation is a fine example.
Very nicely done.
John

[Satish Ranadive]

Gorgeous image as usual. Wonderful lights. Superb look back pose with magical colors and great details.
It's my dream to have image like this of my own.

Regards,
Satish.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Stunning image, awesome eye contact and gorgeous light. Love the composition too.

[Grace Scalzo]

Fabulous! such a beautiful bird in a complimentary setting. Well done as is your norm.

[shane shacaluga]

Very nicely done Arash. How hard is it to keep the subject centered at 1200mm?

Exposure is spot on. Only nitpick if any is to get the beak showing a bit more.

TFS

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Arash! I like the light, IQ, BG, details, red eye and composition.

[Richard Flack]

Lovely image Arash, super light, excellent detail and your usual high quality. Perch is not the best ever but the detail and BG make up for it. Thanks for sharing...

[Arthur Morris]

Sharpness amazing at 1200mm HH... Please let us know how you focused: One-shot or Servo? Active or recompose? Where was the AF sensor if AI Servo?

If the bird had been on a single stick you would have been famous :)

[keith mitchell]

Arash all as been said ,pin sharp and handheld how do you do it?

Keith.

[arash_hazeghi]

Sharpness amazing at 1200mm HH... Please let us know how you focused: One-shot or Servo? Active or recompose? Where was the AF sensor if AI Servo?

If the bird had been on a single stick you would have been famous :)

Thanks Artie, I always use AI-servo

active focus point was placed on the back of the bird.

This is a 100% crop of the head area from DPP4 RAW conversion.

[arash_hazeghi]

Thanks everyone for comments

[arash_hazeghi]

Arash all as been said ,pin sharp and handheld how do you do it?

Keith.

Hi Keith,

The key to getting a sharp output is getting a sharp RAW at first place. I try to get the RAW as sharp as possible in the camera by choosing faster shutter speeds and also paying attention to the placement of the focus sensor. I also use an optimal RAW convertor (DPP) that can deliver clean sharp files without too much grain/noise

hope this helps.

[arash_hazeghi]

Very nicely done Arash. How hard is it to keep the subject centered at 1200mm?

Exposure is spot on. Only nitpick if any is to get the beak showing a bit more.

TFS

Thanks to the lightweight canon 600II and 4th generation IS it isn't difficult for me to keep the bird centered at 1200mm, especially when it's not flying.

best

[mohammad reza shahab]

Hi arash,
very nice light and Wonderful look back pose.Excellent details.

[Bob Smith]

Terrific image Arash --I feel like I could reach out and touch it. Your images always have such an amazing glowing colour to them, with microscopically fine feather detail.

[Binu John]

Killer frame, Arash! The IQ is excellent as usual and the pose and light are awesome. TFS

[William Dickson]

Excellent

[Karl Egressy]

Nice light, pose and sharpness.

[Arthur Morris]

Terrific image Arash --I feel like I could reach out and touch it. Your images always have such an amazing glowing colour to them, with microscopically fine feather detail.

That due both to Arash's strength and skill and to the Canon Digital Photo Professional Techniques that he uses when he converts his RAW files. Learn more about the latter here.

[Arthur Morris]

Excellent

Hi Bill, If you like an image, please take a moment to let folks know exactly what you like about an image. We are doing our best here to avoid becoming just another "great shot" forum and we need help from everyone :) Many thanks.

[Robert Kimbrell]

Beautiful Arash, excellent light and exposure on the bird, It stands out well with the dark background, You caught those amazing eyes well.

[gail bisson]

I love the light and the BG and the way the light has given the white feathers a bit of a pink tinge.
Nice head turn as well.
I might be tempted to "prune" the 2 straggly branches in the LLC and the one coming up from the bottom of the frame.
Gail

[David Salem]

Man, I wish I had a Kite frame like this in my files! Looks great bathed in that sweet evening light. Very nice Arash

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Stunning portrait. The kite is aglow in that gorgeous light. Lovely details and IQ. I'd do a little bit of pruning on the perch, but that's just gilding the lily.