Prairie Chicken

Gallery: AvianPosted April 16, 2012181 views8 comments

This morning my wife and I were in a blind on at a Prairie Chicken leke at Valentine National Wildlife Refuge. Sunday it was really rotten weather, raining and very strong wind. This morning it was clear and sunny, beautiful morning even though it was a bit chilly. This guy entertained us for a long time. Thanks for your comments and critique.

Canon 40D
Tokina 80-400
Aperture Priority
Shutter 1/350
Aperture f6.7
ISO 800
380mm
Cropped to 80% of original
Post Processing in PSE9

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on April 16, 2012 at 7:01 PM

Great pose and wonderful colors Richard, with good detail in the LP. Must have been very neat to witness.

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

Comment posted by David Haynes on April 16, 2012 at 7:31 PM

Now that is some great light. Colors are popping. Nice low angle for the image and I like how the background environment bends at the same angle as the foreground environment. Wish I was there to see this.

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

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on April 16, 2012 at 8:40 PM

Always great to be able to watch these males parade around a lek. Very nice light and BG. The habitat adds a lot.

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on April 16, 2012 at 10:31 PM

Sweet lighting and nice low angle. This seems like it needs a little bit of cw rotation.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on April 17, 2012 at 12:55 AM

What a wonderful show these guys put on every spring. And you captured it beautifully Richard!!! A nice pose in wonderful light!

Ken Archer

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

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on April 17, 2012 at 7:34 AM

The light is incredible, wonderful image!

Ray

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on April 17, 2012 at 11:17 AM

Sweet pose and wonderful light, Richard. I like the low angle and the dof looks excellent, making for a very nice bg. For some reason, I'm not seeing quite as much detail in the plumage as I would expect-I don't know if that's a characteristic of the bird or if the image is just a little soft. The eye looks sharp.

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

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on April 17, 2012 at 9:22 PM

Wonderful light and po, with great detail and habitat - hope this made up for the miserable Sunday!
Sandy

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