Life & Death.

[markymark]

Nature can be so cruel sometimes, but this young Starling will help the young of this Sparrow Hawk.
Never posted an image like this before so if I should have put some kind of warning up apologies.
Feedback would be appreciated.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[AlexK]

Nature can be so cruel sometimes, but this young Starling will help the young of this Sparrow Hawk.
Never posted an image like this before so if I should have put some kind of warning up apologies.
Feedback would be appreciated.
View attachment 60643

I think it is a superb image. What we might define as cruel is how many animals survive and I,personally , appreciate images that illustrate how animals live.

 

[Patrick M]

Great catch.

 

[Butlerkid]

Excellent capture and processing!

 

[cchuck]

Excellent perspective (low) and composition. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Anjin San]

Yeah…really, really good shot.

 

[MikeJ]

I think anyone that has spent a lot of time in nature has probably witnessed something similar. I believe it was someone on this forum that stated: nature is not cruel, nature just is.

Excellent shot!

 

[Stephen Berger]

I have some feedback... fantastic shot!!

 

[Ralph]

Nature can be so cruel sometimes, but this young Starling will help the young of this Sparrow Hawk.
Never posted an image like this before so if I should have put some kind of warning up apologies.
Feedback would be appreciated.
View attachment 60643

Fantastic shot Mark!!! Tells a real story

 

[Andrew Lamberson]

Amazing shot and the eyes tell the whole story...

 

[dupcak]

Great timing and great shot! Nice low angle. I love the foot on the throat.

If I were every lucky to capture this shot I think I might try to clone out the white OOF balls in the background. I think there's enough detail in the background that those aren't needed to add interest. I'd probably clone them out and do a before/after comparison to see which I liked better.

 

[markymark]

Great timing and great shot! Nice low angle. I love the foot on the throat.

If I were every lucky to capture this shot I think I might try to clone out the white OOF balls in the background. I think there's enough detail in the background that those aren't needed to add interest. I'd probably clone them out and do a before/after comparison to see which I liked better.

Thanks for your feedback, the white dots were daisy’s in the grass but I see your point.

 

[Steve]

Really great shot - and a hawk's gotta eat too.

 

[NorthernFocus]

Nicely composed image and good techs. I agree with above comment that the OOF flowers are distracting.

 

[markymark]

Really great shot - and a hawk's gotta eat too.

Thanks Steve that means a lot coming from the person we’re all here to learn from.

 

[markymark]

Nicely composed image and good techs. I agree with above comment that the OOF flowers are distracting.

dupcak said the same thing NorthernFocus about the daisies in the background, the problem I have is that I want to enter it into a competition & one of the criteria is I’m not allowed to remove anything from the image.
I have done hardly any editing to it yet so am hoping to do that over the next few days.

 

[markymark]

Really great shot - and a hawk's gotta eat too.

Steve, when I look at your images they seem to ‘pop’ like you put fairy dust on them, the feathers on your birds really do stand out do you or anyone else out there have any suggestions regarding the editing of the image.

 

[Steve]

Steve, when I look at your images they seem to ‘pop’ like you put fairy dust on them, the feathers on your birds really do stand out do you or anyone else out there have any suggestions regarding the editing of the image.

You have to go out and find a fairy that's willing to give you some pixie dust.

You might also try local adjustments to texture, clarity, and adjusting the white / black points for the bird itself

I have a course coming out, eventually...

 

[dupcak]

dupcak said the same thing NorthernFocus about the daisies in the background, the problem I have is that I want to enter it into a competition & one of the criteria is I’m not allowed to remove anything from the image.
I have done hardly any editing to it yet so am hoping to do that over the next few days.

I you're submitting to a competition then I completely understand leaving them in. They are a bit distracting, but they definitely fill in the story with a few more details so you know that this happened in a field. So not the end of the world. If you were just using the photo for your own purposes then zapping those flowers would probably improve things.

 

[markymark]

I you're submitting to a competition then I completely understand leaving them in. They are a bit distracting, but they definitely fill in the story with a few more details so you know that this happened in a field. So not the end of the world. If you were just using the photo for your own purposes then zapping those flowers would probably improve things.

Totally agree, thanks dupcak.

 

[David Berry]

Should I have put some kind of warning up?

No.

 

[markymark]

No.

Just wanted to make sure as I’m aware that some people would rather not view this type of image, better safe than sorry.
Thanks David.

 

[markymark]

You have to go out and find a fairy that's willing to give you some pixie dust.

You might also try local adjustments to texture, clarity, and adjusting the white / black points for the bird itself

I have a course coming out, eventually...

Steve I’ve just sent you a message via your website titled Life & Death.
Look forward to the editing course you’re currently working on.

 

[MorganP]

Nice shot.

 

[Anthony]

This is one of the best photos I have seen of predator action. The relationship between the cold eyed predator and the desperate, doomed victim is intense.

The white spot "defects" should be left alone, as they emphasise that this is a capture of a real moment in time. In wildlife photography, authenticity is very important.