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Thread: Female Snail Kite

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    Default Female Snail Kite

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    From my boat this morning, Lake Toho. The females eye is a deep dark red and not as prominent as the males. It appears almost non existent as posted but at full size is visible.

    MkIII, EF500, 1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, HH, 90% of full frame

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    Exceptional pose, exposure, and sharpness. It seems to me that there is more negative space at top and bottom than the sides. I wonder if it would look better with the same amount of cropping (10%)?
    Also from the data given, I'm not sure if you used a 1.7x extender or not. If not, perhaps a wider aperture would give a more blurred BG?

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    Nice pose and lighting Mike. I don't mind the background here. If your ethics permit, I think a bit of "eye-doctoring" to add a reflection or catchlight in the eye would really do wonders for this shot.

  4. #4
    Art Kornienko
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    Great points mentioned above, I would have expected a bit more detail with a 90% crop with the 500 at 1/4000 and wonder if HH in the boat caused some camera shake?

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    Great shot Mike. I would give it a bit more room on the bottom. What was he trying to catch?

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    BPN Member dankearl's Avatar
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    The bird is sharp as can be and I don't mind the composition at all.
    The BG is a bit noisy, I would blur it.

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    Great pose. I love the outstretched talons. I think a little more room at the bottom would imrove the image also.

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    Lifetime Member Marina Scarr's Avatar
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    She is a real beauty, Mike. Considering what you were working with, I think you did a find job on blurring the BG. This capture depicts well the environmental in which we regularly see these Snail Kites and adds another dimension to the photo. The landing pose is KILLER, and the picture is nice and sharp and well exposed.

    I see some haloing effect on "her" left wing tips. If it were mine, I might try adding more space on the bottom than the top; add a tad on the right if you have it. This would help to show off her landing pose.

    Can't wait to get back out there.
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    Killer pose and bird angle. Nice to see the eye clearly in this pose. You did very well, Mike.

  10. #10
    Roman Kurywczak
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    Awesome landing pose Mike! Did you consider darkening the BG a touch? That may work! Just another suggestion to take this one over the top!

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    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Awesome landing pose Mike! Good points above. The eye looks natural to me, and much more red would definitely start looking not quite right. That said, a little more eye contact would have been nice. Focus appears sharpest on the tail feathers. I like the idea of darkening the BG a bit. And I'd add some canvas on the right and remove a little off the top.
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    Repost to show I listen to you folks. Not sure if I implemented them well. Thanks for the suggestions and your time do so.
    Last edited by Mike Tracy; 03-23-2011 at 07:40 PM.

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