Peregrine Falcon

Gallery: AvianPosted January 22, 2010255 views21 comments

Taken at Jones Beach State Park, Long Island,New York. While walking the beach I spotted him fly in from offshore. Possibly completing a trip from the Jersey shore to the southwest,he was one tired bird.

Leica R9, Digital Modul-R
F4 280mm. Telyt - Manual Focus with Shoulder Stock
ISO 200, f4 @ 1/4000th sec.

Original shot was of the whole bird on a timber post. I've cropped it to a bust shot (about 25% of the original).

All comments welcome and appreciated.

Comments

21 comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on January 22, 2010 at 12:30 PM

What luck!
Excellent portrait.
Sharp feather detail, nice head turn, and great catchlight.

Sandy r

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on January 22, 2010 at 12:44 PM

I really love this. IMO I think the detail, colours and textures are very well captured. Love the head turn, the feathers, the eye, the bill, the bg, well all of it.

Congrats Michael.

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 22, 2010 at 1:14 PM

Excellent portrait, Michael. I like the lighting.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on January 22, 2010 at 4:22 PM

Lovely portrait, impressive detail for a 25% crop.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Skipper Anding on January 22, 2010 at 5:54 PM

Very nice! Good thing you were watching.

Registered on January 12, 2010, 1 Posts, 12 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on January 22, 2010 at 6:02 PM

That is a great portrait Michael . The sky is very complimentary with his his plumage color and there's some nice detail here.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Pullen on January 22, 2010 at 6:47 PM

Beautiful portrait. Good detail. Ron

Registered on December 18, 2005, 74 Posts, 1413 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on January 22, 2010 at 7:05 PM

I suppose Peregrine Falcons get tired, but I've never seen one that was. They fly absolutely extraordinary distances as a matter of routine. Either you are selling your stalking skills short or this bird previously spent some time as a falconer's bird. Did you see a band?

Either the heavy crop or oversharpening has cost you some detail in the feathers. It's especially noticeable in the scalloping on the coverts. But it is still a very fine portrait. I'd love to see the whole shot, post or not.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on January 22, 2010 at 7:20 PM

Michael, this is really nice. I love the pose and the colors. The detail, well, to me it looks great for 25%. I really don't see much loss at all given that I can see the individual barbs and possibly even the barbules on most of the feathers. I like this a lot.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Ginex on January 22, 2010 at 8:21 PM

Jim,
I would like to think my stalking skills were better than they are. He landed only 100 feet from me at first. When I approached him he flew off to the timber structure 200 yards farther down the beach. This time I approached more cautiously hoping he'd stay put long enough for me to get to him, which I was sure he wouldn't. Happily he did. I got as close as possible withour spooking him, watching carefully for any signs of nervousness he might exhibit. I didn't want to press him, so after taking about 20 frames at various angles I left. It was a great experience and I felt very fortunate indeed. The full frame for your review is attached.
Thanks for your input.

Registered on October 16, 2007, 80 Posts, 353 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on January 22, 2010 at 8:25 PM

Very nice encounter.

To me this has lost a lot of fine detail from the crop and I suspect it is cropped more than you have estimated. It would be good if you posted the full frame version in the comments as that should be a nice image as well.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on January 22, 2010 at 9:06 PM

Really beautiful

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on January 22, 2010 at 10:02 PM

Your posted portrait is about 3% of the full frame, not 25%. 25% is what you'd get if you used 1/4th of the image (i.e., cut it in half vertically and cut it in half horizontally).

See "calculating crop percentages" in this article on my web site.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on January 22, 2010 at 10:55 PM

An excellent portrait!

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on January 22, 2010 at 11:48 PM

Thanks for the full shot, Michael. As Richard pointed out, it's a very steep crop, and that cost you detail. I'll go out on a limb and say its some falconer's escaped bird. Ordinarily, this species is pretty wary. Good work.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Ryan DesJardins on January 23, 2010 at 12:06 AM

Just plain awesome!

Registered on September 11, 2005, 170 Posts, 276 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Jenkins on January 23, 2010 at 9:44 AM

Nice detail, lighting and BG, Michael.

Registered on April 20, 2008, 307 Posts, 604 Comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on January 23, 2010 at 5:37 PM

I wouldn't have guessed it was that much of a crop, as there's still some detail here. Terrific pose and lighting. I'd just LOVE to get close to one some day, but the few I've seen around here have been incredibly spooky.