Coming in for the slam dunk

[Bill Dix]

Somehow this reminded me of Michael Jordan driving to the basket. Snail Kites were high on my wish list for this trip to Florida in March. I've posted a few others, but not this one. I had wanted to get a shot of the Kite with an Apple Snail and here he obliged. But try as I might I could not get him to come in on sun angle, given the wind and sun conditions. So the side lighting is not to my satisfaction.

D500, Sigma 150-600C @ 360mm, ISO 1600, 1/2500s @ f/7.1 manual.

[kevin Hice]

I say you did pretty good Bill. Snail really adds and sticks out. Nothing we can do on flight images for sun angle.I like the vegetation in the bottom of the frame.
Red eyes look good as well as rest of the colors. TFS

[Dorian Anderson]

Sun angle is secondary to the incredible pose and stare in this image! It is really striking! I think the vegetation is a nice touch; it suggests the habitat nicely
but doesn't obscure or distract from the subject. Might want to tone down the highlights on the vent a wee bit. That fanned tail is money!

[Arthur Morris]

Pretty darned good from where i. sit. Where/

with love, a

[Bill Dix]

Pretty darned good from where i. sit. Where/

with love, a

Thanks Artie. Lake Parker in Lakeland.

[dankearl]

Nice landing pose and the snail a real nice bonus..
Habitat a nice anchor.

[gail bisson]

This is a great action shot. the apple snail and vegetation at the bottom add a lot.
I feel your pain about the side lighting but would take this in a heartbeat.
Gai

[Aditya Sridhar]

Agreed with all the positives mentioned above. Nice work, Bill. Love the way it's holding the snail.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Got it! Persistence paid off on this excellent capture, Bill. Love the way he's gripping the snail as he heads in to perch. Like all the plants beneath.


Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[John Mack]

Looks great as is. I don't mind the side lighting. Nice to see that big snail.

[Bill Dix]

Thank you all; your comments are always appreciated.