Northern harrier

Sounds like you had a memorable time out in Utah Ron, and this is a fine image.
You mentioned the smooth feathers that lay flat, they must give it that aerodynamic edge?..Nice work on the canvas addition out front, can't tell at all.
Well done

Good to hear you had such a good time in Utah Ron. I like the head turn and the sharp details in the face, and I would not have known you manufactured landscape had you not fessed up.

looks like you struck the right balance on your techs in tough conditions--I think you're really getting great performance out of that Mark IV. I agree that the detail in the face is really nice, and the added canvas looks great.

Excellent! Any time you can get a male NOHA is a big plus.

HI Ron: Nice capture of the male. White rump patch doesn't bother me. You had a great look at this guy against a nice background. I think the image is a bit on the bright side. I took a quick look at the histogram of the larger version (which shows off a lot more detail) and the darkest point in the image is at about 28. A small levels adjustment really adds a lot pop to this fine image.

Beautiful image of this male in fly !

I love Northern Harrier and this one is very strong !

Ciao, fabrizio.

I hope to one day see and image the harrier in grey. Great job adding the canvas here. Excellent detail and sharpness.

Lovely capture, Ron. It could be adjusted to "pop" more but muted colors and less pop are o.k. for me too for this image. Fine canvas addition (I looked hard but could not see the point of addition). Only nit is that the bird isn't paying any attention to me. Makes the image beautiful but impersonal. Next time ask it to turn.....

Very fine image as usual.

Really well done - still don't know how you guys are so consistant. Can't get anywhere near them here...

I first saw the shot and thought it was Ron or Mia, only to find out it was you WITH Ron and Mia! Really nice capture, with good detail in the face/eye area.

I wish I learned how you guys have trained these guys!

Ron,

We miss you already! I think you did very well with the canvas addition, the phrags do make delightful backgrounds. I like the view of the eye in your image especially since most of the time the harriers are looking down. Very nice sharpness, love the details in the face including the rictal bristles. The rump doesn't bother me at all because very little detail usually shows there.

PS, I'm sure we haven't trained the birds... THEY have trained us!

Beautifully done, Ron. This is one of my nemesis birds, so I would sure love to have this shot. Glad you enjoyed your visit to Utah so much.

I get a thrill seeing these guys here but so far have not had any close-up opportunities like this. Detail is sweet. Nice work holding this camera/lens by hand and focusing on the hawk. On my monitor the harrier appears just a fraction of a stop bright.

As always, thanks for all the comments everybody. I am curious about the few comments about this image being a bit bright. Not refuting them, just trying to understand what might be happening. I reprocessed this image when I got home on my Dell Untrasharp monitor to make sure it was as perfect as I could get it. This is an IPS monitor with 110% gamut. Not a TN monitor. I calibrate this monitor every 2-3 weeks with a Spyder 3 Elite and from what I can see from printing my images and having them printed elsewhere the brightness and color accuracy are extremely good. On my monitor this image is not at all bright and "pops" very well. I really cannot think of much else to do to get better, more natural accuracy on my images. Any suggestions?

Great detail in the larger version Ron and wonderful pose aginst the reeds. Just wondering whether it's a tiny bit bright??

cheers
Rob

Hi Ron: You asked about the brightness of the image. From your larger image, this is what the histogram looks like. If I hold the Alt / Option Key down while moving the black slider to the right, I begin to see the very first hints of anything in the image becoming black value is at 15. If I move it up to 28, I see the black tips of the wings beginning to be pure black. At that value, looking at the image on my NEC 2690 (calibrated every 3-4 weeks using Spectraview II and an I1 display 2) I believe the image looks like it has more pop. The grays in the face seem to show more detail as do the lighter colors in the underside of the body. It may be a personal preference for visual appeal, but that's what prompted my comment. In any event, you certainly have a fine image. Hope that helps explain what I'm seeing.

Excellent, Ron. The detail in the face is amazing.

I'm very impressed. Although I see these often at Bosque I don't have one single good image. I agree with Keith about brightness but then everyone always says my images are dark? Lovely details in the face.

Thanks Keith. That does help. In the end, all I can really do is go by what things look like on my monitor and what I like in looks on screen and in print.