Merlin...at the ready

Gallery: AvianPosted January 1, 2015523 views13 comments

Nikon D4s
600mm (no converter)
ISO 500
SS 1/1600
Manual Exposure
WB Auto
Cropped 36%
Image shot in Portrait mode
Shot from a pickup truck window with bean bag
Processed in LR5

It's been a couple three months since I've posted. Life has been getting in the way big time. My apologies.
Several photographers and myself were lucky enough to be able to shoot a very, very cooperative female Merlin this winter. I have never seen such a cooperative bird letting us get within 30-40 feet on a regular basis. Not a care in the world. She would even let you get out of the car and take shots.
She was hunting dragonflies along side a series of ponds and regularly used 4 or 5 perches. Not always, but most often, she would come back with two DF in a talon most likely caught mid flight while mating and locked together. I can't say I ever saw her miss. Incredible. Will post some images with her eating but wanted to get this nice portrait posted to start things off.
Hope you all are enjoying the Holidays. Happy New Year to you all. May the light be with you in the coming year.

PS Please let me know if you think my color calibration is off. I've been having issues with my Spyder elite doing it's thing and am worried the calibration is off. My monitor shows a greenish hue but my ipad shows a magenta hue. Not sure which is correct. Thanks very much!

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Jefferson Silva on January 1, 2015 at 8:36 AM

This is pretty beautiful, David.
I like the light, the pose, the perch. Nice bg too.
If this were mine, I would try to tone down a little the white spot on the right.

Happy new year!

Registered on December 18, 2012, 162 Posts, 975 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on January 1, 2015 at 9:10 AM

Sweet image! Glad to see you posting again. Lovely detail. Can't comment on the color as I'm on my iPad. I would also look at toning down the bright spot on the right.

edit: Now looking at the image on my calibrated system. Colors look good to me!

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

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on January 1, 2015 at 10:10 AM

David: the colors, pose and techs are spot on. You could tone down the white patch on the right a bit and maybe consider doing the same to the perch. Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on January 1, 2015 at 11:00 AM

Outstanding David in all respects,
I would not change a thing, the white spot is no problem IMO.

Man !

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on January 1, 2015 at 12:40 PM

Wow David, this is a stunner. Great background, great perch and a great look at this beautiful bird. Can't wait to see more.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on January 1, 2015 at 12:41 PM

Hi David:

Just a thought on the crop. It feels a touch centered to me. Here's one thought on an alternate crop.

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

Comment posted by Allen Brooks on January 1, 2015 at 1:42 PM

Beautiful pose, perch, background, and detail. I do like Keith's crop and the suggestion to tone down the white area on the right, but these are minor and secondary thoughts as I was initially drawn to the beautiful detail in the Merlin. Well done.

Registered on July 27, 2011, 262 Posts, 2597 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on January 1, 2015 at 4:06 PM

To everyone: Thanks for the comments. I totally forgot to tone down the white blob on the right side of the image. Can't remember what it was but you are all correct in that it needs to toned down some.
Keith: The crop you provided is much, much better than mine. Not so centered and more intimate now. Thank you my friend for the suggestion.
Glad the color rendition looks ok to everyone. My ipad is way off then. Good to know.
Thanks again for the help.

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

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on January 1, 2015 at 6:52 PM

David,
Welcome back. As usual, you have posted a stunning shot. I agree with the comment about the bright area to the right of the image. I wonder how it would look if you were to crop it tighter on the left to take the bird and stick out of the center. The stick, the background, the sharp image and the pose have combined to make a killer shot.

Registered on March 13, 2011, 326 Posts, 1679 Comments

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on January 1, 2015 at 8:28 PM

The detail in the feathers is outstanding. A beautiful specimen together with a talented photographer made a killer shot.

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

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on January 2, 2015 at 9:06 AM

Hi David,

This is a great shot of a very cooperative merlin. The bright spot on the right side can be darkened as a minor improvement. Otherwise, I like the pose and sharpness and the color looks pretty good on my monitor

...................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on January 2, 2015 at 10:45 AM

Stunning example of this bird with a great perch. Merlins (like all raptors) can be tough to get close to. I have had some luck during migration - but that's usually just because there is a high volume of birds that I'll get one or two cooperative ones. Nothing to nit here

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

Comment posted by Steve Thompson on January 2, 2015 at 3:37 PM

Outstanding David! I like Keith's version of the crop but everything about this image is spectacular in IMO.

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments