Snail Kite On Attack; Better Run, Little Snails!

[Bill Dix]

Was lucky to be in the right place with the right lens, and not clip a wing. Slight crop top and left; 90% FF.

D500, 500f4 + 1.4 TC, ISO 1250, 1/2500s @ f/7.1 manual.

[William Dickson]

Well done Bill...I'm glad you managed to get this one. Looks good to me. Lovely detail on the bird and a great HA and I love that facial expression.

Will

[dankearl]

Nice and sharp... Nice flight angle.
It looks like it could use a slight boost in saturation to me..

[David Roach]

Yes to all that has been said. The eye looks fantastic. The pose is sweet too. Only wish the head was more separated from the far wing. To Dan's point, the plumage (not the eye) looks slightly washed out. Maybe contrast boost, not sure. TFS

[John Mack]

Nice view of this kite. Like the pose and the light looks nice as well. Timing looks perfect.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks for the comments. I also wondered if it looked a little washed out, but thought I'd see what others said. Here's a repost with 9 points of black added to the neutrals.

[David Roach]

That repost did it, Bill. Plumage looks better and makes the pose more dramatic and that eye is still so killer... TFS

[Alex Becker]

Nice one Bill. Great pose, BG, and details. RP looks good to me. Love the hanging feet here. Looks like a great trip to florida. TFS

[arash_hazeghi]

nice dynamic pose witha good BG, I like the dangling talons. looks like some whites were originally blown and then recovered in post?

TFS

[gail bisson]

This is a great flight frame. Repost looks better.
Love the dangly feet!
gail

[Daniel Cadieux]

That is a beautiful image of a Snail Kite, Bill! Nicely cropped for optimal comp. Very nicely done. I too was wondering about the whites, specifically the part directly above the eye.

[Bill Dix]

Thank you all. The original image was overexposed by about 2/3 stop, which I corrected in RAW conversion. I also reduced the highlights somewhat. They were not totally blown, but right on the edge at about 248-249 in just a few small spots.

[annmpacheco]

Repost looks wonderful Bill, just terrific action you captured, the dive and concentration. I like your changes.