Prairie Falcon

Gallery: AvianPosted January 29, 2012854 views21 comments

The early morning sun had just barely reached this falcon after being partially shaded by the elevated road from which I took the shot. Usually these birds take off during or very soon after my approach so I was set up for a take-off shot - thus my settings. Upper background is the Great Salt Lake.

7D, 1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, shot from pickup window on 12/6/11, cropped to 55% of original image, exposure adjustment in ACR, NR to background, sharpened bird and part of perch, no additional processing or adjustments, natural light, not baited, set up or called in

Larger version provided

Comments/critique appreciated

Comments

21 comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on January 29, 2012 at 6:09 PM

Nice light on the bird and the perch Ron. Love the contrasting dark background-sweet shot

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Kirchen on January 29, 2012 at 6:43 PM

Very nice. Love the pose and the warm light against the cool BG. I wonder how it would look with the tree at the LLC cloned away. Just a thought.

Registered on March 6, 2011, 95 Posts, 847 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on January 29, 2012 at 7:22 PM

Really nice light. The fluffed feathers, head turn, and catchlight really add to this shot Ron. Bird stands out really well against that nice darkish BG. Nice little "finger" on the rock made a great perch; keeping the tail high and visible. Very cool!

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on January 29, 2012 at 7:54 PM

Excellent. I only see this species in flight at a distance. I'd love a chance like this.

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

Comment posted by Neil Rossmiller on January 29, 2012 at 8:50 PM

Well done, Ron.
The background really makes the falcon pop. I actually don't mind the tree branches. I think it adds to the environment.
Cool shot!
Neil

Registered on October 30, 2009, 156 Posts, 749 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on January 29, 2012 at 9:24 PM

Wonderful capture Ron.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on January 29, 2012 at 9:41 PM

The bird looks a little perturbed..."I wanted to sleep in just a little"! Really nice capture and the rock makes a very cool perch. Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 29, 2012 at 9:45 PM

beautiful, Ron. love the light here. detail looks good--in the larger version the long shadows of the fluffed breast feathers on the wing coverts are pretty cool. love the shape of the perch and how it creates room for the tail. the veg at left is maybe not ideal but I don't think I'd clone it either.

by the way--nice quote--haven't read any B. Russell since my days as a philosophy major, but I recently pulled a volume off the shelf and thought I should give it another read.

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

Comment posted by Ken Archer on January 29, 2012 at 10:48 PM

Awsome portrait with wonderful detail Ron!!! Love the warm light on the falcon contrasting with the cool tones of the background.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on January 30, 2012 at 1:45 PM

I like that the bird seems so relaxed. Great bird, Ron. Your usual awesomeness.

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

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on January 30, 2012 at 3:11 PM

Lovely portrait, I especially like the ruffled plumage, head-turn and soft light.

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

Comment posted by Mark Schiebelbein on January 30, 2012 at 8:52 PM

Wonderful light, judging from his fluffed up feathers it looks like he was trying to warm up a bit after a cool night. I like the little sideways look he is giving.

Registered on November 8, 2008, 55 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on January 30, 2012 at 9:19 PM

Gorgeous Ron. Love the light, the stare and the neat rock perch.

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

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on January 30, 2012 at 10:01 PM

Lovely light and detail Ron

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

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on January 30, 2012 at 10:06 PM

Hi Ron

A delightful capture. ........ the subject, light, and detail are extraordinary

Albert Darmo Canada

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

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on January 31, 2012 at 10:17 AM

Excellent light which create a dramatic feel to this one Ron! Excellent techs as usual.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on January 31, 2012 at 9:29 PM

The sweet early light on the bird against the dark BG makes for a dramatic look. Good detail, nice pose and interesting perch.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on February 1, 2012 at 3:34 PM

Wow, what type of spotlight did you use? Wonderful timing on waiting for the light, it really displays the feather detail and catch light plus I like the look the falcon seems to be giving you. Well seen and well done Ron, way to go.

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

Comment posted by David Haynes on February 6, 2012 at 1:31 AM

Ron,
Sorry to be a little late here. Just getting around to commenting from the past week and this image certainly caught my attention. The lighting is really warm and the background shows that the light has not hit it yet. Great pose and head position by the falcon and I really love the perch he's on. Some mention cloning the tree in the lower left corner and I find that I love having that tree in the scene. I'd definitely leave it in but that's just my personal opinion. Great capture Ron!!

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by William Bickle on February 14, 2012 at 4:10 PM

Hello Ron

Beautiful Capture , And Great First Light. Patience for the best Moment has Paid off Handsomly. Did the Bird Take-Off while you were ready & poised?

The Morning light has separated the Bird from the BG Very Smoothly & Featured the Bird in his Spotlight.

The Natural Catchlight does Finish the Impressive Image completely !!

Thanks for offering up this Image.

Bill

Registered on June 13, 2011, 183 Posts, 1702 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Nall on October 23, 2012 at 9:37 AM

The lighting is very nice in this image Ron, at first looked like some variety of hawk. Reasonable detail throughout and the pose is fantastic. The bgnd and perch are also plusses. Very enjoyable and quite well done.

Registered on October 5, 2012, 45 Posts, 168 Comments