Meredith Bain
November 2025 - Whistling Kite
About the Image(s)
On a recent photography outing specifically for bird photography, I captured this raptor image of a whistling kite. It refused to take flight whilst I and my two photography colleagues were there and was keeping a very close eye on us, hence a simple sitting pose. The tree appeared to be quite dead although still standing. The distance from me to the bird was 25-30 metres.
I was happy with the detail in this image. I am definitely not an accomplished bird photographer and your thoughts are most welcome.
Fujifilm X-T4, lens 100-400mm @ 312mm, ISO 800, F9, 1/2000 sec, hand held, burst mode
Heavily cropped and other light editing in Lightroom"
3 comments posted
Meredith, The detail on the image is beautiful so it may be a good thing that the bird did not take flight. The simple pose works for the photo. I am curious about the background, was it sky? Posted: 11/13/2025 13:46:58
Meredith, this is a beautiful bird. I'm not a bird photographer either, but you should be very pleased with this image. I note that Peter had a question on the background. I questioned the birds perch being perfect. No signs of the bird being attached to a thether. So I'm not having an issue. A judge that knows his birds might find the tether and bird problematic. That only becomes an issue if the subject is part of a "Nature" competition. Well done. Posted: 11/15/2025 01:02:37
Meredith, what a gorgeous bird ! You really captured him beautifully and he's looking right at you ! Stunning.
I know we're not supposed to use sky replacement for nature images, but just a tad of light clouds would really add to the image -- just sayin'. Always up to the photographer and depends on if you're competing or just making a nice picture for yourself or your friends !
I think your shutter speed and F stop really helped make a great shot ! Keep it up ! Posted: 11/17/2025 10:08:03
I know we're not supposed to use sky replacement for nature images, but just a tad of light clouds would really add to the image -- just sayin'. Always up to the photographer and depends on if you're competing or just making a nice picture for yourself or your friends !
I think your shutter speed and F stop really helped make a great shot ! Keep it up ! Posted: 11/17/2025 10:08:03