Seaside Harrier

Gallery: AvianPosted April 2, 2015111 views8 comments

Hi all! Here's another from our trip to the Coast. Josiah and I spotted this harrier hawk working the marsh along the shoreline of the Pacific in SW British Columbia, and I was happily working on images of it in action when it perched not far from me right at last light.

I raised and lowered my tripod repeatedly looking for the optimal angle for the scene, and this is one of the ones I ended up liking best. I do like the deep blue of the ocean peeking through.

I used Live View to ensure critical focus and also shot this on DX crop mode on my D600...it's cropped in slightly from the resulting file and then cropped top and bottom for the panoramic aspect ratio of course.

Not a lot done in post...slight tweak of brightness and contrast and selective curves.

Nikon D600
Nikkor AF-S 500mm f/4D IF-ED
ISO 640
1/320sec @ f/5
Tripod mounted

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on April 2, 2015 at 7:33 PM

Hi John,

This reminds me of a Bateman painting with the bird occupying a large expansive view of the habitat. The facial disks and feather details show up nicely in the big version..................................Jim

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

Comment posted by Scott Frye on April 3, 2015 at 1:00 PM

I am not a fan of OOF foreground as it is a huge distraction for me.

Registered on February 3, 2007, 387 Posts, 1136 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on April 3, 2015 at 3:58 PM

Rather like the oof fg and the sense of depth in the image. Also the pano crop works well in setting the bird in an environment. Does have a somewhat painterly feel, which I think is very attractive.

Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments

Comment posted by Patrick O'Healy on April 3, 2015 at 4:05 PM

John,
This is a bold, and highly creative approach to this image. Using my limited imagination, I would have cropped the image to show the bird in a traditional manner. Your off the page approach is a great reminder to not be stuck in convention but to seek alternative vision. Thank you for sharing this. In addition, I want to compliment you for your thoughtful, in-depth comments to several of my photos. They demonstrate your heart, your knowledge, and your willingness to share what you know and your perspective. I want you to know how much I am benefited by your giving nature. As a result I think of you as a friend, although we have never met.

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on April 3, 2015 at 6:48 PM

Hi John:

Wonderful light and I like the composition. I'm not quite so crazy about the masses of oof foreground, particularly the two large blobs on the right. I'd be interested in seeing one of the images you took from a slightly higher vantage point.

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

Comment posted by John Launstein on April 4, 2015 at 4:32 AM

Thanks for the varied and constructive comments! I knew this one wouldn't fit in everyone's taste, but it was the look and feel that I wanted to create when I began photographing the scene. I do have several alternate comps, and will post one I converted to B&W next just to carry on the conversation a bit. Josiah was above me photographing over my head while standing on a stump, so he has a bit of a different look to his images, beyond the different style he is developing of course. I'll be sure to process one from him as well, as the hawk was so kind to us we owe her some props.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on April 4, 2015 at 5:21 AM

Hi John, I really like the perspective on this and going for a small subject in a large environment, the pano crop works really well. Reminds me of a location just outside Vancouver. You know the colour present, but I wonder if tweaking the temp a fraction, a little to the right may give a bit more warmth to the overall scene & the more dominate 'red' FG? Just a thought.

TFS
Steve

Registered on March 25, 2007, 189 Posts, 1064 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on April 4, 2015 at 10:41 AM

A typical Launstein shot, showing that wildlife photography can be much more than just framing an animal. The larger version serves much better, since it shows much more. It took me a while to decide, but after staring at it for several minutes, I really like it ! Well done ! Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments