Took these this afternoon. I have only started trying to take flying birds in the last two days. Give me some feedback. All I did was re size them. Nothing else was done to these pictures, Jeff

I like them...not that I am an expert....but I really like the 3rd one...Kind of like he is looking at you while flying on....

I like the pose in #3 the best and you've done well with focus and exposure. The framing however is a little off (just a nit pick you really did a good job) I know how hard it is to track the animal AND compose the shot at the same time and it comes with practice and lots of shutter clicks. Leaving more room for the animal to "move" through the shot makes it more pleasing to the eyes.

You've done well and it can only get better from here. Keep shooting.

The third one is nice, but I agree about the framing being a bit off (and how difficult it is while shooting a flying bird) and will add that the face/head needs sharpening.

However, the fourth one is the bomb! Wonderful angle and the curve of the wings, in addition to all their detail makes it a very interesting shot. The face/head is in full profile view, plus it is sharp. Well done! I say, keep it up!

Nice work, Grandpaw!

I like #3 and #4. But I think the ideal moment came between #3 and #4 as I feel #3 is too early and #4 is a bit late.

But I like the wing position in #4.

I'd choose the third one, too. Did you crop it that way?

Grandpaw, great images, I particularly like #4 - shows the details of the feather very well.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

I'd choose the third one, too. Did you crop it that way?

Thanks to everyone for your comments. I didn't crop any of these pictures. They are just as they came out of the camera other than they were re-sized to be able to post them. I was standing on a pier without any railings and was afraid of walking off the edge and falling in the water during the excitement of getting the shots. With as much as I had them zoomed in I was really surprised that I managed to keep them all within the frame. This is my second attempt to get birds in fight.

The more I learn how to operate my D80 with the Nikon 18-200VR lens and the more I use it the happier I get. I have been using Nikon F film cameras from 1970 untill recently, but I think the Nikon D80 has gotten me converted to digital, Jeff