Kestrel

[John Blumenkamp]

This is one of the numerous kestrels that can been seen here in northern Utah... this one stayed on a nice perch in some good light long enough for me to capture this image.

40D w/ 400 5.6L
1/2000 f/6.3 iso200

Thanks for looking,
John

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great light, composition and BG. I might sharpen the bird a tad more.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey John,Sweet pose and perch! Lucky you to have so many kestrels! Real nice looking plumage too!

[Don Lacy]

Very nice image well composed and the Kestrel look beautiful in that light.

[Ramon M. Casares]

I think the repost looks a bit oversharpened, but the original could use a little sharpening though. Very nice light, ose, perch, BG, colours. Congratualitons!

[Arthur Morris]

I love the soft clouds and the perch and the bird as well. I agree with Ramon that the re-post is a bit over-sharpened but agree that additional sharpening of the ORIG is needed. Do you have any with different head angles? (I love the pose and the COMP but would love to see a different head angle or two.)

[Art Kornienko]

I too agree with Ramon and Artie, repost does look oversharpened. A tad bit more sharpening would be nice but otherwise very little to improve upon here other that as Artie says maybe a different head angle. Love the colours.

[John Blumenkamp]

Thanks for all the comments everyone.... immediately after Axel's comment I did sharpend slightly and reposted (had to run at the time and didn't leave a comment on the update). Perhaps an additional small amount of sharpening will help.

Artie - I do have a number of captures from the time I spent with this kestrel. I will see what other head angles are in the set. I know this one was first to get processed because I liked the catchlight.

[Fabs Forns]

The ruffled feathers and the clouds make him look angelic :)
Don't tell that to the dragonflies, though ;)

[Judd Patterson]

Hey John, I love the light and that very attractive background sky/cloud mix. It's really brings out all the colors on this bird. The head turn works fine for me...it's something different than a flat side-view. I look forward to seeing what else you've been capturing in Utah recently...makes me yearn to make it back out there. :)

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks John. I look forward to seeing the repost and also a different head angle.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Lovely image!
This image is outstanding for several reasons, already mentioned. To me, the head angle is fine, but if will wait to see if you have some more.
I did some PS adjustments, tone down the perch a bit and sharpening.

[Mike Lentz]

A fantastic image all the way around!

[John Blumenkamp]

Thanks again for all the comments everyone.

Per Artie's suggestion, I thought a composite showing the various head positions I captured in this set might be interesting to see... I did a quick edit of a number of the images, so these are intended for doing a comparison review, etc. Personally I find the first of these three to be more appealing. Plus I think it's a sharper capture than the image I originally posted. :)

If others are still viewing this thread, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on which pose you like best, etc. Thanks!

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks John, I like one and two better than the ORIG post which I liked a lot. The one that I was looking for would be similar to #1 with a bit more head turn (to just short of parallel).

IAC, would love to see #1 here at full size.