Pearl Kite - Colombia

[Dorian Anderson]

This little raptor was perched in a roadside tree in Boyacá Department in the Eastern Andes
and stayed just long enough for me to jump out of the van and grab this frame. It was the
middle of an overcast day - and it's a pretty heavy crop (probably 20% of the frame) - but I
was still pretty happy with the result. Pearl Kites are small (8-9") and live throughout most
of northern South America.

And yeah, there's a bit of BG noise. I guess I could selectively fix that. All other suggestions
welcome as well.

Canon 500mm f/4 IS + 1.4x III on EOS 5D Mark IV
1/2000 at f/5.6, ISO 800, handheld, manual mode

Cheers!

[Tim Foltz]

Dorian, another species I've never seen or heard of. It's sharp for such a heavy crop, the noise isn't to bad either, nice HA and BG.

-Tim

[John Mack]

Looks great for the big crop. Never heard of this bird. I enjoyed viewing this one. Don't be afraid to raise the ISO on that MarkIV.

[Colin Driscoll]

A pretty little raptor and better than a record shot.

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Dorian,
The 5d4 must do quite well with large crops. Image held up pretty well. Noise isn't that bad to me. Nice backward looking pose with pleasing BG.
Allen

[Jonathan Ashton]

Excellent exposure Dorian the colours are beautiful, it is often the case that colours are made to "pop" but I think these are just right.
I have no reservation over image quality - at this size at any rate and I think the noise is insignificant, a very pleasing image.

[Isaac Grant]

Great little raptor. Nice look back pose. Crop held up pretty well. Shot looks a bit thin on my screen and would benefit from some levels adjustments or adding a few points of black in selective color.

[Bill Dix]

For a "grab shot" and large crop, this is quite a lovely frame of this beautiful, tiny raptor. Good pose and beautiful background, and the overcast light really helps. I had a similar experience where I was able to get a grab shot of this species; I wish it had come out half as good as this one.

[Arthur Morris]

Ditto all of the positive comments above. I love the bird and the image. I would, however, suggest a small crop from the bottom just enough to eliminate the broken part of the little stub. That draws the eye and for me is an image wrecker ...

with love, artie

[Arthur Morris]

Like this :)

a

[arash_hazeghi]

you are killing it with these shots Dorion! Good IQ given the crop and nice pose too

[David Salem]

Sweet frame of a raptor I have never seen, or even heard of. IQ looks good over here and I love the BG colors. Well done