![\"american](\"http:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/american-kestrel-5342-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"american")
<\/p>\nAnyone who follows my blog knows that I love to photograph raptors and flight shots are perhaps my favorite genre.\u00a0 But I’ve found getting acceptable flight shots of the American Kestrel to be\u00a0nigh on to impossible (unless they’re hovering).\u00a0 The smaller the bird, the more difficult it is to\u00a0get in flight, for a variety of reasons, and kestrels are perhaps our smallest raptor.<\/p>\n
The best chance is to catch them just after take-off.\u00a0 Most raptors give some indication\u00a0of imminent take-off (body posture, defecation etc) so you often know when\u00a0it’s coming, but kestrels generally don’t.\u00a0 They launch so incredibly fast, and in unpredictable directions, that luck will always play a large role in getting the shot.\u00a0 Then, throw into the mix the fact that their speed requires very high shutter speeds and the result is a\u00a0very formidable photographic quarry.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Two days ago I was able to get this shot\u00a0of a female kestrel taking off from a metal post.\u00a0 I like the wing position, light and especially the acrobatic position of the legs and feet.\u00a0 I had the shutter speed to get the bird sharp but f\/5.6 didn’t give me enough depth of field\u00a0to prevent blur in the right wing.<\/p>\n But I think a little\u00a0wing blur in a shot like this\u00a0still works pretty well.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Anyone who follows my blog knows that I love to photograph raptors and flight shots are perhaps my favorite genre.\u00a0 But I’ve found getting acceptable flight shots of the American Kestrel to be\u00a0nigh on to impossible (unless they’re hovering).\u00a0 The smaller the bird, the more difficult it is to\u00a0get in flight, for a variety of reasons, and kestrels are perhaps our smallest raptor. The best chance is to catch them just after take-off.\u00a0 Most raptors give some indication\u00a0of imminent take-off (body posture, defecation etc) so you often know when\u00a0it’s coming, but kestrels generally don’t.\u00a0 They launch so incredibly fast, and in unpredictable directions, that luck will always play a large role in getting the shot.\u00a0 Then, throw into the mix the fact that their speed requires very high shutter speeds and the result is a\u00a0very formidable photographic quarry. 1\/3200, f\/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in Two days ago I was able to get this shot\u00a0of a female kestrel taking off from a metal post.\u00a0 I like the wing position, light and especially the acrobatic position of the legs and feet.\u00a0 I had the shutter speed to get the bird sharp but f\/5.6 didn’t give me enough depth of field\u00a0to prevent blur in the right wing. But I think a little\u00a0wing blur in a shot like this\u00a0still works pretty well. Ron<\/p>\n