Kestrel from Downunder

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Hi guys

I have not posted in a very long time, but after scrolling through this forum I was inspired to share some things.

I found this young Australian Kestrel in July last year in NW Sydney and knowing how unperturbed they are, the next day I revisited with a few boxes of live crickets.
The location was uninspiring, by a small country lane with no real super clear areas, except a small strip beside the road, and light was not always favourable.

Having to throw a cricket, then run back 20 meters or so was hard enough and it was often too late to get too low to get right down to road level, but I still got some images that I am pretty happy with.

OM-1, 300mm f/4 PRO, manual mode, ISO1250, f/5.6, 1/6400th
Added a small strip at the top with Generative Expand in PS, and just processed normally, S/H, a little tweak in Topaz Photo AI.

Hope you like it! It looks low-res on my monitor, whereas now all photos by others look good. Not sure why. Maybe at 538Kb it's a problem? Original web jpeg was almost 2mb.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Akos, where have you been hiding????
Ah, I see you have jumped ship, good luck with the files if you have to push the ISO, but this looks pretty good, likewise the PP, albeit there are areas to address IMHO.

Personally if you could, being flat on the ground and being head on would have been ideal, as a friend has been shooting these this way for many years and it looks really cool, but I'm not sure you get the nice bokeh with the OM system? The wings outstretched and talons forward ready to grasp is lovely, but yes you needed to add more at the foot, otherwise the subject is flying out of frame so to speak. With the Crickets being so small it looks like the prey has been remove, it looks a bit odd. but it is what it is.

On the laptop, the colour does look a bit off, going red/magenta, see the earth/grasses. I would in Lr brush in some exp on the whites, not blown you just need to pull the whites back and add some texture. If you are using Lr then use Enhance, it outs trips Topaz and AI can be rather aggressive at times, but your call Akos. Overall you have more finer detail you can extract even from this image, especially in the wings.

You can see the added portion, so just be mindful, albeit you can address this, but remember, if you ever use this element and submit the file for comps, it will flag up that this adjustment has been used within the file.

Not sure why. Maybe at 538Kb it's a problem? Original web jpeg was almost 2mb.

There is no problem when viewed actual size, just Apple minus and as the image shrinks on the monitor you will see it perfectly.

Hope to see more.

TFS
Steve

[Brian Sump]

Hi Akos, good to have you posting with us!

Super landing pose. I like your choice of comp.

The intense side lighting does create some drama but the shadows may be less than desirable to some. A bit more direct light and this frame would have some extra WOW.

I think the whites on the leg could probably be tamed just a bit more. Otherwise, I think you processed it pretty well, just maybe adj the magentas in the ground.

Side note - a few of us with a keen eye could probably sense something a little off on that strip at the top but PS does a pretty good job. I think you could stamp it a bit and even the scene out.

Thanks for sharing!

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Akos

It's been a long time...so glad to see you back! Great landing pose from your Kestrel and subject super sharp, nice techs, good framing too.

Whites a bit hot but do agree with comments above, you could easily tame them a bit. Don't want to confuse things...and I could be wrong... but...on my monitor I see a bit of blue creeping in on the wings and those feathers on the feet?

Overall a lovely image and I am so pleased to see you posting again. Hope you can find something in your folders for the Wildlife forum too

Wishing you a great week ahead and once again many thanks for sharing!

Kind regards,

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Hi Akos, where have you been hiding????
Ah, I see you have jumped ship, good luck with the files if you have to push the ISO, but this looks pretty good, likewise the PP, albeit there are areas to address IMHO.

Personally if you could, being flat on the ground and being head on would have been ideal, as a friend has been shooting these this way for many years and it looks really cool, but I'm not sure you get the nice bokeh with the OM system? The wings outstretched and talons forward ready to grasp is lovely, but yes you needed to add more at the foot, otherwise the subject is flying out of frame so to speak. With the Crickets being so small it looks like the prey has been remove, it looks a bit odd. but it is what it is.

On the laptop, the colour does look a bit off, going red/magenta, see the earth/grasses. I would in Lr brush in some exp on the whites, not blown you just need to pull the whites back and add some texture. If you are using Lr then use Enhance, it outs trips Topaz and AI can be rather aggressive at times, but your call Akos. Overall you have more finer detail you can extract even from this image, especially in the wings.

You can see the added portion, so just be mindful, albeit you can address this, but remember, if you ever use this element and submit the file for comps, it will flag up that this adjustment has been used within the file.



There is no problem when viewed actual size, just Apple minus and as the image shrinks on the monitor you will see it perfectly.

Hope to see more.

TFS
Steve

Hi Steve,

life mate, just flat out doing stuff.

I'll try to post more things here :)

We love the OM-1, high ISO is perfectly fine if exposed well and processed too. If it's good enough for a guy like Andy Rouse, it's good enough for us. Plus the ease of portability for travel.
Couldn't get low, on my own, the bird was too quick to react.
Sadly, the only suitable area was in this kind of lighting.
Thanks for your comment :)

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Hello Akos

It's been a long time...so glad to see you back! Great landing pose from your Kestrel and subject super sharp, nice techs, good framing too.

Whites a bit hot but do agree with comments above, you could easily tame them a bit. Don't want to confuse things...and I could be wrong... but...on my monitor I see a bit of blue creeping in on the wings and those feathers on the feet?

Overall a lovely image and I am so pleased to see you posting again. Hope you can find something in your folders for the Wildlife forum too

Wishing you a great week ahead and once again many thanks for sharing!

Kind regards,

Hey,

We were in your neck of the woods recently.
Second trip to South Africa.
Visited friends in Durban, then went back to Giants Castle, and Pilanesberg. Thought about Hluhluwe, but didn't quite get it done this time.

I see what you mean with whites, they are not blown, just bright. Thank you for the suggestions, always.
I may have some images for Wildlife too. :) Say, leopard or lion?

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hey Amos ... what a cool capture under the given location circumstances , very well done .
Interesting to use crickets to get them closer to the photographer .
Super action and well composed .... nice sharpness and well controlled lighting .
Personally I would try to open up the image a touch on the tonal front , excluding the HL and 1/4 tones as they are already bright enough and spot on for me ... just a matter of taste .

Other than that a stunning capture

Hope you can chime in more

TFS Andreas

BTW you image has no color profile attached ... is better if you do so , to get consistent representation across the world

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Steve,

life mate, just flat out doing stuff. nI'll try to post more things here :)

We love the OM-1, high ISO is perfectly fine if exposed well and processed too. If it's good enough for a guy like Andy Rouse, it's good enough for us. Plus the ease of portability for travel.
Couldn't get low, on my own, the bird was too quick to react.
Sadly, the only suitable area was in this kind of lighting.
Thanks for your comment :)

Hey Bud, understandable, but pleased you found your way back here, hopefully not just in Avian.

Andy Rouse, we go way way back to 1999 I think, and are good mates, did his first Tiger exploration with the late and Dicky, sorely missed, another awesome guy who left way too soon. I assume you are in his Club, if not let me know.

Agree the kit is lightweight for sure and good series of lenses, but from the files I have seen, they take far more work to Process, but hey, its your choice, so enjoy.

We were in your neck of the woods recently.

Gabriela will be sorry I know, but I guess I just missed you too if it was only a short while ago. Keep me posted next time, back out again soon...

BTW Did you get my email????

Cheers for now
Steve

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hi Akos, it's really nice to see a post from you!

I had heard about that trick to use crickets to bring kestrels in, and form this image it is very obvious that it works quite well. I agree with the points and suggestions already provided so I won't rehash them.

The image quality looks good from my end, not low-res. Not sure what would be causing that for you.

[Randy Stout]

Akos:

Great to see you back. The techs have been well covered.

I think you need to use a cricket canon to shoot the cricket out from your camera position, so you can be ready to go when the bird comes in!

Cheers

Randy

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very good Akos, the brightest elements are a little bright for me and a slight tweak to the colours will make this even better. Glad to see you are joying the benefits of OM system, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks from my perspective..

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Very good Akos, the brightest elements are a little bright for me and a slight tweak to the colours will make this even better. Glad to see you are joying the benefits of OM system, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks from my perspective..

Thanks Jon. Appreciate your comment. I do see some of your stuff on the FB groups from time to time.
We are certainly love the compact size of the gear, and truly, the OM-1 is an amazing camera body.
I think we will sooner or later get the 150-400/4.5 TC25 for both of us, as the lens seems to be incredibly good for what we do, and compared to other systems, you can't beat the price either.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Akos:

Great to see you back. The techs have been well covered.

I think you need to use a cricket canon to shoot the cricket out from your camera position, so you can be ready to go when the bird comes in!

Cheers

Randy

Thanks Randy.
Cricket canon, now that's a though. LOL