PK Dive

[Rudi van den Heever]

Location: Mankwe, Pilanesberg Game Reserve, South Africa
Time and date taken: 07H58 on 27 December 2010
Equipment: Canon 7D and 100-400mm L lens at 400mm
Settings: 1/3200 at F5.6 and ISO 800

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Rudi, this is excellent. perfect techs, great bg, excellent comp and tacks sharp. If mine, I'd try to lighten some portions without blowing the whites. Loved that foot and the space between the foot and the perch.

[gail bisson]

This is great! I really like the little foot and the great BG. Love the absolutely vertical dive. A keeper for sure. I would clean up the perch so no droppings visible,
Gail

[Jonathan Ashton]

What a gem of a shot - perfect timing and super exposure.

[Grace Scalzo]

Really cool dive shot and nicely composed.

[Arthur Morris]

Superb timing. Another darts game in progress! Perfect BKGR and SH. I only wish that the bird were angled a bit more towards us. Lightening the BLACKs around the eye would help us better connect with the bird. I'd use Tim Grey's Dodge and Burn on a Layer as described in Digital Basics.

[Randy Stout]

Rudi:

Excellent image with perfect timing. The vertical dive is special, separation from perch good, nice background and techs.

Great fun and perfect fit for this months theme.

Cheers

Randy

[Daniel Cadieux]

I'm not usually a fan of the "dart" pose of airborne birds, but it works very well here for the obvious dive Applying the suggested tweaks mentioned would take this to another level. Well done and timed!!

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I like this more after I pulled it up. It kinda grows on you . Nice exposure on the bird and I like that we can see the perch.

[Raymond Lee]

Awesome timing! Love the clean background as well as the composition! Even though in the photo the bird is not quite angled toward the viewers, the photo portrays the bird's intensity and determination to catch its prey!

Cheers,
Raymond

[RakeshDhareshwar]

For me this looks perfect , the way it is presented . Love it !

[Rudi van den Heever]

Thanks a million for your feedback and advice! Arthur, I will have a look at Tim Grey's technique and maybe repost if I have the time...

[arash_hazeghi]

great action captured well!

[Mital Patel]

Rudi

Awesome action freeze down here. will try to patch those poo patches on perch and open the face a bit.

[Rudi van den Heever]

Thanks for the time taken to view and comment Arash and Mital!

As far as the "poo patches" are concerned - That was part of the scene captured and also tell a great deal about the history of the perch concerned... I do not think it is a distracting object like a branch or dark patch in the BG... Just my thoughts on the issue...

[Robert Holguin]

Wow!!! This is excellent. Great timing and feather detail.
Well done.

[Nico Steenberg]

'n Lekker een Rudi !! Photography excellence !!!

[Rudi van den Heever]

Appreciated Robert and Nico!