Kestrel Chicks

[adrian dancy]

Back in 2005 I discovered a Kestrel's nest in the gable wall of a derelict building which was directly abutting a busy main road running through a very quaint village. I spent several days at the nest site photographing these utterly charming birds. Sadly the following year the building was renovated and the hole in which the parent birds nested was blocked up. This is one of my favourite images. To create this image I set my tripod up in the middle of the road and took about 5 shots and quickly retreated to the footpath. A line of traffic had built up but no driver complained and most gave me a thumbs up and a smile. In Manchester or Salford they would have just driven over me

15% circa crop
Canon 20D
Sigma 500 f4.5 EX
Tripod

ISO 400, f5, 1/1000sec

[keith mitchell]

Adrian I am not surprised it is one of your favourites it would certainly be mine, the tecs are spot on! Love all the different poses of the birds, absolutely beautiful, sort of image that inspires me .


Keith.

[gail bisson]

This is really nice. I like the whitewash on the chicks' head on RHS. Really tells the story of life in the nest.
I would have loved to have a better view of the left handed chick's face. It would have been perfect had he looked at you.
I like your choice of comp but could see and I think I would prefer a tighter crop on all sides to allow you to get rid of the whitewash at the bottom.
You could also paint the whitewash away in PP but I understand that it is part of the story.
Fun story about the traffic tie-up.
Gail

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Adrian, kudo's to you for getting your shot by holding up the traffic. Great eye contact from the chick on the RHS, and all three look pretty comfy in their 'nest'.I like the comp as is, even though the whitewash is a touch overpowering - but that is nature, and its natural.

My first Canon camera was a 20D - it gave me great service till I upgraded to a 50D, which also gave me good results.

[John Robinson]

All been said Adrian.
Seen it before somewhere but still a cracker!
John

[Randy Stout]

Adrian:

I love examples of how good of images can be created with what would be considered very modest equip now. This is a striking image, with the birds posing like the three stooges, the great texture in the rock, tight framing.

I did a very quick pass at toning down the white wash a bit, and opened up the shadows in the nest hole to try and add a bit more sense of depth. Pretty subtle at web posting size, but might be worth trying if you are inclined to revisit this fine image.

Glad good manners still existed in this small town when you took this image.

Cheers

Randy

[Karl Egressy]

Lovely juveniles, very nicely done. Adrian. (my personal favorite of yours is the one where one of the chicks fell asleep on the roof.)

[Diane Miller]

Just gorgeous! Incredible detail on the chicks! I love the three different looks -- brings a big smile!

[Geoff Newhouse]

This image is awesome. Nothing to say but well done and look at the gears you accomplished this with all those years ago. I love this image as I love raptors and baby raptors even more!!

TFS
Geoff

[Satish Ranadive]

Fantastic image of three little cute ones. Superb composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[William Dickson]

Very nice capture Adrian. And, your determination sure paid off big style. Well done and thanks for sharing

Will

[Jonathan Ashton]

That's a super shot Adrian, I bet most of us had a 20D once - I did and I thought it was the bees knees. I must admit when I first glanced at the image I was very impressed with the quality.

[Michael Hansen]

I love it, Adrian, whitewash and all. Beautiful shot!

The alternative (which has happened to this site), is to board it up, have no whitewash, and no reason to photograph it at all, except perhaps for the real estate agent.


Mike

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Adrian!

Been browsing through Avian looking for something that grabbed my eye, and I found just the frame! What a wonderful image! Superb capture, well taken, and some nice PP work too

Killer composition and the pose from the subjects is just superb, great eye contact...Whew, so much to look at!

I truly enjoyed viewing this image - techs look good to me, and yes I fully agree with you, one does not need the latest or best equipment to produce stunning images, all one needs is good light, charming subjects, some inspiration, and knowledge as to what the kit can do and how to make the best of it. This is a winner in my books, congratulations!

Kind regards,