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American Kestrel


Posted by David Salem on Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:11 am

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Hope everyone has been well. 
I captured this female American Kestrel coming back to her hunting perch with a dragonfly last winter. She looked up at me as she was about to land so I was pretty tickled to get this one with a good head angle. Hope you like it.

D850---850mm---f5.6---ss1/3200th---ISO800---hand held from truck@8:30am---75% crop!!

Thanks as always for looking and for your input.  I appreciate it.

David
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by David Salem on Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:12 am
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Oops forgot, please click on the image to view the larger more detailed file. Thanks
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by Debapratim Saha on Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:21 am
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Killer shot David!
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by Debapratim Saha on Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:22 am
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Wow! the dragonfly kill is icing the cake as well.
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by Dan Kearl on Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:41 am
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Well I guess we all can file away any Kestral shots we have......
What a treat to view this..
Outstanding, Dave, maybe as good a pure bird photo as it gets.
 

by Isaac Grant on Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:46 am
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This is just insanely good Dave. I love your photos. The pose, the background, the eye contact is all perfect. And that dragonfly makes it even sweeter. What a killer shot. Long live the D850 for image quality to be able to crop this one so tight and still have it look amazing.
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by ADKShooter on Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:49 am
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This one really takes the cake. Beautiful in all respects. As others have said........they don't make them any better than this one. Congrats !!
 

by David Salem on Tue Jan 26, 2021 11:10 am
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Isaac Grant wrote:This is just insanely good Dave. I love your photos. The pose, the background, the eye contact is all perfect. And that dragonfly makes it even sweeter. What a killer shot. Long live the D850 for image quality to be able to crop this one so tight and still have it look amazing.
Wow!! Thanks so much everyone.  Glad you like it!!

Yes Issac, this is exactly what the D850 is perfect for.  The range this shot was taken from wouldn't have been unusable with my trusty D5 so  Im lucky I had the 850 with me that day!! This is a 75% to 80% crop from the original file and it still held up well!! Got to love that 850!! 

Thanks again
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by rajandesai on Tue Jan 26, 2021 11:51 am
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Wow! That is one heck of a capture. Congrats on getting a fabulous frame.
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by Brian E. Small on Tue Jan 26, 2021 1:37 pm
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Sick!
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by Carol Clarke on Tue Jan 26, 2021 1:45 pm
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Now isn't she the most beautiful thing you've ever seen!  :)   A truly magical capture of this gorgeous Kestrel, David.  I could look at this for a very long time - and enjoy every moment.  Outstanding image!

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by david fletcher on Tue Jan 26, 2021 1:51 pm
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Amazingly good image David. Quite off the charts! Many congratulations.!
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by Karl Egressy on Tue Jan 26, 2021 3:11 pm
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Wow, a truly amazing shot, David. The Dragonfly in the talon puts it over the top. Also the pose is as good as it gets.
 

by Ron Day on Tue Jan 26, 2021 4:56 pm
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It has all been said, David, and I completely agree with all of the positive comments above. Fantastic shot. And interesting information about your crop and the D850. Congratulations on this beauty!
 

by Scott Fairbairn on Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:02 pm
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Perfect BG, wing spread, and head angle. And of course, the nice dragonfly puts it over the top! Awesome!
What lens were you using? 850mm?
 

by David Salem on Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:04 pm
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Thanks so much everyone!! Im really glad you like it!!
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by peter makuch on Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:07 pm
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you really got the best from wing to wing and the open tail for the landing, with the prey ( dragonfly ) as an added bonus to this image, excellent work DAVID.
 

by David Salem on Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:11 pm
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Scott Fairbairn wrote:Perfect BG, wing spread, and head angle. And of course, the nice dragonfly puts it over the top! Awesome!
What lens were you using? 850mm?

Thanks Scott!!

Nikon 600mm f/4 FL ED VR with a Nikon 1.4 extender.

My same Canon rig equated to 840mm with the same setup but all the Nikon literature states 850mm with their rig so that's the number that I have been using.

Thanks again for your nice comment. 
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by paul fletcher on Tue Jan 26, 2021 8:08 pm
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I can't think of anything else to say about your image , David, that the others have not already said !
Certainly, a very special photograph!
 

by Ed Cordes on Wed Jan 27, 2021 9:00 am
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Wow! Everything I was thinking about this fantastic image was said above. I'll just add my congratulations and say just STUNNING!
Remember, a little mild insanity keeps us healthy
 

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