Pheasant in Flight

Gallery: AvianPosted February 13, 2011366 views25 comments

I went to the central part of the state yesterday for raptors, and there certainly were many, many raptors around. But, I found myself working for several hours trying to get flight shots of pheasants. Not easy to get one to fly, first of all, and tougher to get it flying roughly parallel to the camera, rather than away, but I finally got some shots I was happy with.

Canon 50D, 400 5.6L, ISO 400, 1/3200, f6.3, 430EX @ -1. About 70% of original. Higher-res version posted as well.

Comments

25 comments

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on February 13, 2011 at 6:48 PM

Wonderful capture. These are magnificent birds with their brilliant colors and patterns. I have only seen one in flight and that was more of a drop from a embankment to the other side of the road. Thanks for posting it.

Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on February 13, 2011 at 7:20 PM

Must be VIEWED LARGE. Great work, Terry! You should be very happy with this pose!

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on February 13, 2011 at 7:55 PM

Well, uh, yeah... I think I would be happy too.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Marquart on February 13, 2011 at 8:13 PM

Very nice flight shot Terry, I agree with Lon that the large version is a must see as the face and eye just grabs my eyes!

Registered on October 24, 2009, 126 Posts, 799 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on February 13, 2011 at 8:25 PM

Looks like you even got a nice head turn, Terry. Excellent.

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

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on February 13, 2011 at 8:43 PM

Supreme! This is awesome. Great little head turn. Tack sharp. Great light. Great BG. Awesome job.

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

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on February 13, 2011 at 8:59 PM

I dream of shots like this! Nice to get it all in the frame, and I like the little blur with sharp focus on the head and perfect exposure. A pleasing background for sure.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on February 13, 2011 at 9:18 PM

Excellent Terry! Every time I have gotten a chance of a pheasant in flight it has been flying away from me. LOL. Congrats on getting this killer good shot!

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on February 13, 2011 at 9:50 PM

fantastic, Terry. really nice flight shot of a gorgeous bird--nice details, wing position, setting, those big feet, everything. really like how you can make out some of the bg (looks like corn stubble?) could go perhaps a little looser on the overall comp, but not a big deal. like the others have said, the larger version really shines--especially that great eye.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Walters on February 13, 2011 at 9:54 PM

Really like the color of the pheasant and the position of the wings.

Registered on October 30, 2005, 405 Posts, 3693 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on February 13, 2011 at 10:49 PM

Simply fantastic flight photo of this beautiful bird, way to go Terry. I like the suggestion of stubble field in the background, so appropriate. What a great pose!

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Balan Vinod on February 14, 2011 at 12:55 AM

Absolute beauty here Terry ...amazing capture ....as every one else says ..it needs to be viewed large ..and fantastic detail and color ...well done ..

Balan Vinod

Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on February 14, 2011 at 4:56 AM

Superb image - especially like the composition and rivetting eye.

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

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on February 14, 2011 at 5:51 AM

Wow Terry, this is amazing. Great complementary background and eye contact - well done.

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by richard remington on February 14, 2011 at 7:32 AM

Terry,

Really fine shot. I have tried and tried to get pheasants and or turkeys in flight and it is extremely difficult. This is one of th best I have seen.

Rick

Registered on March 12, 2010, 105 Posts, 368 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on February 14, 2011 at 8:53 AM

Great shot! These are really tough to get in flight and this is top notch

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on February 14, 2011 at 1:42 PM

Great capture, I love the detail in the face and eye. These birds are heavily hunted and very elusive. Nice comp with the tail, and great flight pose.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Olsen on February 14, 2011 at 4:05 PM

Terry,

This is definately a WOW photo!!
I love the posture of the bird, it's watchful eye, the wing position and the little tail curl are all great!!!
The BG is just enough in focus to anchor the pheasant to it's environment.
This photo could be marketed to various magazines.
The large version is a must to see.

Registered on October 19, 2006, 306 Posts, 1571 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Elwood on February 14, 2011 at 5:00 PM

Terry one of the best I have seen of the species! The techs are spot on! Very well done!!

Registered on January 15, 2010, 101 Posts, 396 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on February 15, 2011 at 6:46 AM

It has all been said !

Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on February 15, 2011 at 1:44 PM

Certainly a good sign when you open the larger version and go "oh wow", great job in getting this very diffiicult shot. Well done.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Karen Summers on February 15, 2011 at 5:17 PM

Brilliant shot large is a must

Registered on December 3, 2009, 83 Posts, 818 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on February 15, 2011 at 9:35 PM

Hi terry

Sorry i'm late to the party

Words really can't describe this!! This is a one in a lifetime dream shot

Great color, detail ,light, and pose even the B.G is marvelous.

Albert Darmo. Canada

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by Geoffrey Baker on February 17, 2011 at 6:13 PM

What a great flight image

Well done.

Geoff.

Registered on August 20, 2010, 192 Posts, 980 Comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on February 21, 2011 at 6:02 PM

Sure, Fabiola, be glad to answer any question about how a photo was obtained.

I got the photo walking along a gravel road in the central part of the state. This guy flushed from the adjacent field and flew by as I took the shot.

So yes, it actually was quite convenient for him to fly into my viewfinder! Typically they'll just run away under cover when you come across them. But with hundreds and hundreds of pheasants in this area, you just hope to come across the one oddball!!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 513 Posts, 6889 Comments