American Kestrel

[David Salem]

Here is a beautiful male Kestrel that shows up every year in September for a week or two to fatten up on dragonflies. Looking forward to his arrival in a few weeks

1DX---840mm---f5.6---ss1/3200th---ISO640---Handheld@ 7:45am---40% crop

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

David

[Susan Smitha]

This bird's feather has a lot of colors! looking mesmerizing. It's pose also looks stunning.

[gail bisson]

I love the plumage on this guy!
Killer BG and I like the look he is giving you.
I like the wing position as it is a bit unusual but would prefer a more extended wing on the near wing (but I am being picky here!)
Nice and sharp- so hard to get as they are fast!
Gail

[annmpacheco]

Beutiful bird and BG too Dave, I really like the "side" position here and that direct glare she gave you. Great skill to nail these flying bullets. Looking forward to dragonfly buffet shots soon!

[Arthur Morris]

Love the bird, the SH, the EXP, and your perfect orientation to the subject with the bird angling slightly toward you. As Gail mentioned, in an ideal world the near wing would have been fully extended. The funny thing is that with the far wing pretty much sharp to the end, the motion blur of the primaries actually bugs me. BKGR is to die for as is the image.

with love, artie

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Beautiful capture under remarkable soft light, David. Equally as stunning is the BG.

Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image as always David! Beautiful plumage, details, sharpness, eye contact and sweet BG!

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone!!

[David Salem]

Love the bird, the SH, the EXP, and your perfect orientation to the subject with the bird angling slightly toward you. As Gail mentioned, in an ideal world the near wing would have been fully extended. The funny thing is that with the far wing pretty much sharp to the end, the motion blur of the primaries actually bugs me. BKGR is to die for as is the image.

with love, artie

Thanks Artie,

I actually liked this wing position as it gives the sense of motion and speed along with the blurred wingtips. To each his own

Thanks again for your comment

[Tim Foltz]

Dave, nice and sharp, nice BG, HA and catchlight, wish the wings were fully extended but you can't have everything all the time.
Maybe a tad more DOF?

-Tim.

[Mike Poole]

Totally different wing position than we normally rave about, but it definitely works here due to the body position and flight angle. The little look towards the camera helps as always.

Mike

[Isaac Grant]

Rocking as always Dave. I love the wing position and color palette here. Angled perfectly towards us. Sharp all the way to the tip of the tail and those talons look perfect as well.

[arash_hazeghi]

Sweet shot Dave, I actually like this wing position

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments!!