RED KITE DIVING

I photographed this kite in late October when the afternoon sun was low in the sky, giving attractive front lighting and bringing out superb colour. Because red kites dive so fast, it is difficult to keep then in the frame and a very fast shutter speed is needed to freeze the movement. I pre-set manual exposure for a diving bird, which because the sun catches the pale coverts on the underwing, is one to two stops less than when it is circling.

F/5.6, 1/1,600th second, ISO 250
Accepted: Swansea 2014, Chung Ai (Canada) 2014, Tourism - Konya (Turkey) 2014