Directional, moody lighting is an acquired taste for some – at least it was for me when I first starting photographing birds. Now I’m a fervent convert to the genre, especially when I can get a pleasing setting that I like to go along with it.
1/640, f/8, ISO 400, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc
On this cold February morning of this year I’d been out shooting Northern Harriers but tremendous winds came up so I decided to call it a day. On the way out of the refuge I noticed this male American Kestrel higher up in a tree and decided to pull up and see what might happen, since he wasn’t in a good position for photography at first. Soon, in an obvious attempt to get out of the howling wind, he flew down and landed on this stump almost at ground level. The problem was that he was in deep shade. But because of the wind blowing all the tree branches around, occasionally some side light would strike him. I took a few shots without high hopes of getting anything I liked. I was pleasantly surprised with a few of the images when I looked at them and this is one of them.
I quite like the setting and light in this shot. The detail is very good, especially at a larger size because I was very close to the bird. Some may think the brightness of the grass stems on the left are less than ideal but personally I’m fine with them. I was pleased that f/8 gave me enough depth of field to keep all of the bird relatively sharp and still blur much of the background. .
Kestrels are among my favorite subjects. I think they are spectacularly beautiful birds, they have a real chip on their shoulders (I’ve always liked “attitude” in my subjects) and they’re challenging to get close too.
Ron
It was a kestrel photo similar to this back in 1973 that started me on the path to working with raptors. I now spend time every morning with a male kestrel on glove. His name is Hendrix (from the fella that wrote and performed “Little Wing”), and oh yes, he has that “ain’t taking ’nuffing from no-one attitude. I’d have it no other way.
This photo is a great way to illustrate all those amazing colors and patterns on this, the smallest American falcon. Note the light grey margins on the primary flight feathers, the dark vertical eyestripe, the blue grey crown with the russet monk’s tonsure! One could almost imagine his parents were a peregrine and a parakeet!
Thanks again for posting such wonderful windows into the world of wildlife.
Gorgeous shot of a gorgeous bird!
Unbelievable! I have never seen them except from afar on a wire.
Ron, this feature of the blog is quickly becoming a favorite for me. Love this image of the Kestrel-the pose, the side light, and the great detail. Superb.
Beautiful Ron,
I agree with your lighting preference. Hard to get very often, but that’s the challenge isn’t it.
Ron: Just outstanding. The vivid eye, rich colors of the feathers, dark BG, texture of the perch … I could go on and on …. all contribute significantly to this dramatic image.
Handsome subject caught in an interesting pose.
Wow! Beautiful.
Beautiful! one of my favorite birds because they eat grasshoppers!
That is indeed the look of a bird that takes ’nuffing from no-one’. I am always fascinated by the way in which we you get a good close up of a bird details in their plumage suddenly standout. I love the white tippin effect around the kestrel’s grey feathers. Thank you.