Merlin with Quail

gorgeous bg and light on this. dinner a bonus

Nice action shot.

Please let the viewers know if this is a captive Merlin and if it is eating captive prey.
Not that it's a bad thing but just so people are not confused and think that's a wild shot.
The quail is obviously a pen-raised Coturnix quail and it looks like you've cloned out the leather anklets on the Merlin's legs.
As for the technical aspects, the shot looks sharp enough but the light angle is off causing the left side of the bird to be shaded.
Nice frame

rbrown, this would have been a nice shot but your PS cloning skills could use some improvement,
several repeat patterns on the Merlins legs where you obviously removed the jesses. Also the adding of additional space across the top looks rushed.
I don't have a problem with setup shots as long as they are stated as such. The bait also as David mentioned looks suspicious.

Thanks -Tim

David Salem wrote:Please let the viewers know if this is a captive Merlin and if it is eating captive prey.
Not that it's a bad thing but just so people are not confused and think that's a wild shot.
The quail is obviously a pen-raised Coturnix quail and it looks like you've cloned out the leather anklets on the Merlin's legs.
As for the technical aspects, the shot looks sharp enough but the light angle is off causing the left side of the bird to be shaded.
Nice frame

Hi David:  You're right on all accounts except the lighting. The photo was taken late in the afternoon when the sun was low, so the front of the bird is lit while the back is in shadow.    RB

Tim Foltz wrote:rbrown, this would have been a nice shot but your PS cloning skills could use some improvement,
several repeat patterns on the Merlins legs where you obviously removed the jesses. Also the adding of additional space across the top looks rushed.
I don't have a problem with setup shots as long as they are stated as such. The bait also as David mentioned looks suspicious.

Thanks -Tim

Hi Tim:  Thanks for your input. No space was added along the top and the background is unaltered.   RB

rbrown10 wrote:

David Salem wrote:Please let the viewers know if this is a captive Merlin and if it is eating captive prey.
Not that it's a bad thing but just so people are not confused and think that's a wild shot.
The quail is obviously a pen-raised Coturnix quail and it looks like you've cloned out the leather anklets on the Merlin's legs.
As for the technical aspects, the shot looks sharp enough but the light angle is off causing the left side of the bird to be shaded.
Nice frame

Hi David:  You're right on all accounts except the lighting. The photo was taken late in the afternoon when the sun was low, so the front of the bird is lit while the back is in shadow.    RB

Hi Ron,

First off I hope you are not put off with my mentioning the setup.  I wasn't trying to bash you, just bringing it to your attention.

As for my comment on the "light angle being off", I understand the light was low but what I am talking about is YOUR light angle is off. 
You needed to have positioned yourself further to the right so there wasn't any shadow on the bird. You would have been looking more straight on with the bird. Better yet, you would have setup the birds for the scene parallel to the sun and parallel to the camera sensor.
Hope this helps
Keep em coming  

David Salem wrote:

rbrown10 wrote:

David Salem wrote:Please let the viewers know if this is a captive Merlin and if it is eating captive prey.
Not that it's a bad thing but just so people are not confused and think that's a wild shot.
The quail is obviously a pen-raised Coturnix quail and it looks like you've cloned out the leather anklets on the Merlin's legs.
As for the technical aspects, the shot looks sharp enough but the light angle is off causing the left side of the bird to be shaded.
Nice frame

Hi David:  You're right on all accounts except the lighting. The photo was taken late in the afternoon when the sun was low, so the front of the bird is lit while the back is in shadow.    RB

Hi Ron,

First off I hope you are not put off with my mentioning the setup.  I wasn't trying to bash you, just bringing it to your attention.

As for my comment on the "light angle being off", I understand the light was low but what I am talking about is YOUR light angle is off. 
You needed to have positioned yourself further to the right so there wasn't any shadow on the bird. You would have been looking more straight on with the bird. Better yet, you would have setup the birds for the scene parallel to the sun and parallel to the camera sensor.
Hope this helps
Keep em coming  

Hi David:  I don't feel the least bit "bashed". I appreciate your input.   Thanks,  Ron