Perigrine Falcon w/Repost

Gallery: AvianPosted September 30, 2011136 views10 comments

With rain in our forecast for the next week I decided to make a trip to the local Wildlife Refuge for the last expected dry day for awhile. I was surprised when I came across this Perigrine Falcon, a new bird to add to my list and collection. I had only seen captive birds previously and after visiting the refuge for over 30 years it was a wonderful surprise to finally capture one of these "occasional" visitors.

Larger version available, "Thanks for stopping"

canon 7D
canon 600mm f4.0L
F/11 1/200 ISO 250
auto beanbag window lens rest

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on September 30, 2011 at 8:59 PM

Good for you Craig, I'd be quivering with excitement to get this close to a peregrine. Light looks good and I like the pose and eye contact. Perhaps the bird was really at this leaning angle but if it were mine I might consider rotation if I had the room. I'm curious about why you'd use f/11 here and about the background lighting. At first I thought it was a broad halo around the falcon but now wonder if you may have used a filter to get that effect. Just wondering...

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on September 30, 2011 at 9:15 PM

Hi Ron,
Thanks for commenting and noting the angle of the pose. Actually in processing I did do some rotation and agree that some more might help. I wanted to position him so that he wasn't dead center and yet not use all the side canvas with more. I suppose I should have considered adding canvas and then doing the rotation/composition. The "Halo" behind was added with NIKs "darken/lighten center" filter, a highlighting touch I like, and the the f/11 setting on the 600mm at my distance was used for DOF. Thanks for commenting!

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on September 30, 2011 at 9:29 PM

Thanks for the response Craig. I'm assuming from what you said in your second comment that you were quite close (you didn't mention crop size in your original post) and if so, f/11 seems more appropriate for the situation.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on September 30, 2011 at 9:36 PM

Wonderful, Craig. I love the angle of the perch and the nice light on the Peregrine. Hope it hangs around. Excellent detail. I like the chin tuft-it kind of gives it that well-fed look.

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

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on September 30, 2011 at 10:12 PM

Wonderful and intense eye contact, the details are great. Excellent image.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on October 1, 2011 at 12:01 AM

What luck to find this - I've nevr had very much success with ANYthing at Ridegfield .....grrr.

Really nice image - nic e pose and colours.
Seems to need a bit more sharpening. The bird is in an odd position - would benefit from some straightening, even if this is the angle he was actually at.
Sandy

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

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on October 1, 2011 at 2:20 AM

Wonderful image of this speed-master of the skies Craig!

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on October 1, 2011 at 8:21 AM

Thanks for the suggestion for more CCW rotation.

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on October 1, 2011 at 9:32 AM

I think the comp's fine as originally posted Craig, but I suppose the rework will satisfy the NPN crowd better..
Really comes down to your personal preference, and it's pretty much subjective.
I like the PP effect from the Nik software to bring up the bird, and the neutral gray BG works well.
I'd be very happy to call this one mine

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on October 1, 2011 at 3:37 PM

I much prefer the more upright repost Craig. Overall a very nice image of this bird. I do not prefer the filter affect, but that is just me and thus makes no difference. Nice shot.

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