Kestrel Landing - Capturing the Moment

Dear Friends,

Every image has a story behind it, and as I worked on creating my Bird Photography Masterclass over recent weeks, I came across many images in my archives that sparked memories.  Birds are creatures of habit, and one of the “tricks of the trade” in wildlife photography is being a good observer, and anticipating what birds are going to do.  “Capturing a moment” in bird photography isn’t just a matter of luck.

This series on the kestrel landing didn’t make it into my course, but is a classic example of how being a good observer of bird behavior can help you anticipate and enjoy an interesting moment of action.  I think this is something that all fans of watching birds and other wildlife in the field can appreciate, whether you are a photographer or not.  Honing our powers of observation makes for greater appreciation and enjoyment of our time in nature.

Kestrel Landing

I shot this image a few years ago while on assignment at the Annenberg Center at Sunnylands, in Palm Desert, California, where I was photographing birds on their property for an exhibition in their visitor center.  I roamed the property daily, and soon became familiar with the haunts of certain individual birds.  This kestrel is one example.  I often saw him perched in the same trees, and as he hunted around the property, he often returned to some of the same perches.  A simple shot of the bird perched wasn’t very interesting, so I had the idea of getting him coming in for a landing with wings fully spread.  One day when I saw him using this particular perch, I decided to stake him out when the sun was in a position to create nice backlighting on his wings.  Once I framed my shot with my lens and camera on a tripod, and focused on the landing spot, it was just a matter of waiting him out, with finger always poised on my cable release (less tiring than having my hand on the camera all the time).  He made a circuit to several other perches as he hunted, but eventually came back to this one.  When I saw him approach, I hit the trigger before he entered the frame and fired a burst at 12 frames per sec.  You can see the full sequence below.  The other frames aren’t worth keeping, but I succeeded in capturing the peak moment with wings and tail spread catching the light just a moment before he landed.  

The Kestrel Landing Sequence

Here is the sequence of images that came before and after the “keeper” shot.  For the camera nerds these were shot with a Canon 1DXII, 400 mm f2.8 w/ 2X, 1/2000 sec, f 8, ISO 1600.  The key thing being the 1/2000 sec to freeze the motion.

Shot 1:  Entering the frame.

Shot 2:  The keeper shot.

Shot 3:  Just landed, but awkward position.

Shot 4:  Perched and rather boring.

If you are a wildlife photographer and interested in checking out my new course  BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERCLASS - THE CREATIVE PROCESS, you can visit the course website to learn more.  You can even sign up to watch one of the eight lessons for free to get a sense if the course is right for you.  

Thanks for tuning in as always.  Whether or not you take a camera on your walks in nature, see if you can learn the habits of your local birds and anticipate their actions.  It can be very rewarding.

Warmest regards,

Tim Laman

PS.   If you haven’t ordered your calendars yet, there is still plenty of time to get them before the year end.  Check out my six different bird-themed calendars HERE.