Kestrel

[William Dickson]

• Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 16.4 (Macintosh)

Canon R6
f/4 400mm DO Mk2 at 560mm
f/5.6
1/5000
ISO 3200

Another one from my time at the Kestrel Hide. I managed this shot whilst the bird was flying towards me, low to the ground. The BG is grasses and nettles. Gimbal Head. ACR and PS. About 60% of the original frame.

Will

 

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Will ... another super shot from that location , very well executed .
I do like the overall image and specially the head on approach .
Subject nicely separated from the BG with a nice tonal range , details and sharpness very nice .
Personally not to fuzzed about your chosen WB and/ or color grading , does look quite red/magenta to me ....

Other than that I am kind of envious :5

You must have had a great time

Cheers Andreas

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Will again a nice flight shot, but for me two things I'm not a fan of, but you can address these which I think you'll see makes a difference.

Firstly I feel the DN is a bit too hefty, killing some of the finer detail, but the crop could also impact? No problem having a little grain in the backdrop, but also the BKG nettles are competing with the subject, having better separation will offer greater standout for the subject. Ideally you want more distance. I would also reduce the overall blue by almost 75%.

Good you had the SS and a reasonable ISO, just watch adding Black Contrast & Clarity.


Glad you had a good time, I knew you would and fill your boots, we are heading back there next Friday with a view to discussing some major changes, so it might look a bit different perhaps when you come back and try some new stuff too. Give me a heads up next time, be a good craic!

TFS
Steve

 

[Brian Sump]

Will, I personally like this image a lot. The bkg doesn't bother me because the Kestrel stands out so much and it's such a dramatic image in terms of pose and drawing the attention of the viewer. If you wanted to dodge or blur the darker brown stalks/branches that could help a bit.

Crop works well for me and you handled the shadows very nicely IMO.

I could see the head being masked just a little with some magenta but it really doesn't appear obvious in any way. You might be able to pull a touch more selective sharpening on the head.

A truly nice image though, I'd love to have it!

 

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Other than being a bit more punchy with contrast, it seems fine to me.
Good that you are getting some nice kestrel action, Will!

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

Hi Will, I recognise the colour issue!! The balance doesn't look quite right to me either though I am no one to talk! Looks pretty good but I tend to agree perhaps a little too much smoothing out - was it perhaps excessive NR or maybe adding Clarity in the wrong places - I have done this myself in the past and recognise similar issues. Worth having another look see I would suggest because it looks like a good capture.

 

[William Dickson]

Thanks for the comments guys.
Took on board the white balance issues etc. I have lots more Kes images to process, so plenty practice. :S3:

Will

 

[William Dickson]

Hi Steve. Are you moving perches, sounds good. I will be returning, probably in a couple of months time. I'll drive down through the night, spend the day in the hide, sleep over in the hotel 5 mins from the hide, drive back next day. As you said will be a good craic.

Will