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Thread: American Kestrel

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    Default American Kestrel

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    Due to back issues, have been unable to shoot for a few months, but taking time to process from archive. Here is a Kestrel from 2016 in Gilbert, Arizona
    Canon 7DII, Canon 500/4 + 1.4X TC @ 700mm
    f8 1/3000 sec @ ISO 800
    Crop for composition in LR, sharpening and NR in Topaz
    Last edited by Ian Cassell; 02-05-2021 at 02:58 PM.

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    BPN Member Dorian Anderson's Avatar
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    The thorny perch is really cool, but the elevated shooting angle isn't ideal. I love the feet, but the sharpness and detail fall off from there; the face certainly needs
    some local sharpening if you haven't already done it. I would also consider dialing back the saturation; the bird looks good but the sky is unnaturally blue. The crop
    is really tight, so I'd loosen it to give him some breathing room. Layered/fluffy feather on the back are really pretty.

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    Avian Moderator Brian Sump's Avatar
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    Hi Ian, man I love Kestrels! Looks like you got pretty close here.

    Dorian has some great comments. I might be curious if the head was sharp in the raw or maybe if the focus point was on the back feathers?

    Also, if you look at the areas where the feathers should be white do they look a little cyan/yellow to you?

    Keep em coming!

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    Super Moderator arash_hazeghi's Avatar
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    good to see you back Ian, hadn't seen you post for some time

    nice find, large in the frame, a bit too large for me and the angle just a bit steep. the critical focus is on the shoulder are and the head a bit soft, I do like the thorns on the perch but the electric blue sky is a bit distracting

    welcome back, hope to see more and hope your back feels better

    TFS
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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Ian .... a really beauty subject this Kestrel species .
    The image as posted has some shortcomings as said above from others , in which I do agree .
    Color / Tone and contrast are a matter of taste .... this one seems to be a bit overdone . Reminds me of a underexposed Fuji Velvia ....

    TFS Andreas

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    Thanks for all the suggestions. Agree that the head could be a bit sharper, but don't think I can recover that due to focus point being off. I always struggle with tightness of crop and I guess I overdid it. :)

    i
    Last edited by Ian Cassell; 02-06-2021 at 11:09 AM.

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