Northern Harrier Hovering in Red Willows

[Ashleigh Scully]

From a series taken back in February in NJ.

Sony a55, Tamron 200-500mm (500mm ; 1/2000)

Thank you for the review and feedback!

[Randy Stout]

Ashleigh:

A big welcome to BPN! You will find it a great place to share and learn as a wildlife photographer.

Striking color palette in this image because of the red willow. Classic hovering pose for your harrier.

Well exposed and nicely composed.

The detail on the bird looks a bit soft. How big of crop was this, and what type of post processing did you do? This information really helps us evaluate and critique the image.

Welcome to BPN, and look forward to future posts.

Cheers

Randy

[Grace Scalzo]

The red is striking. What do the ones in this series just before this one look like? Wish that the bird was higher above the willows and that we could see a bit more of her eye.

[Ashleigh Scully]

Hi -

For my post-processing, I imported the RAW file into Photoshop, cropped, and then applied some Unsharpen Mask, and a tiny bit of saturation.

I am learning how to do most of my post-processing directly in Aperture instead. For these I used Photoshop.

I don't know how to explain how much of a crop it was. I'll find out.

Thanks for responding, I really appreciate it.

Here's one more from this series.

[Ashleigh Scully]

Here is the last one, after she gave up on that spot and flew off hunting.

I was shooting from a car window without a bean bag, so the flight may look a bit blurry. I use a beanbag now :S3:

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Ashleigh, a big welcome to BPN from me too - enjoy the ride. I like the hunting pose, with a great view of the right wing. I do like the colours of the foliage, and agree, moving the harrier higher in the frame will work better. Keep them coming.

[Randy Stout]

Ashleigh:

I like the second frame the best, sharper, better wing position.

For the future, you should only post one original image per each thread. It is OK to post reposts or modifications of the original image, but not different frames. I will add a link with posting instructions.

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/87343-Please-Read-Before-Posting-The-First-Time-and-Then-From-Time-to-Time

Cheers

Randy

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Ashleigh,

Welcome! I too like the second image you shared the best. Seems to be sharper and I like the less saturated reds.

Look forward to some of you future posts.

Miguel

[christopher galeski]

Like the second image best,its a lot sharper,and welcome to BPN.

[Marina Scarr]

Big welcome to BPN and congrats on your first post. Your repost looks very so much better. I like your choice in composition. Yes it would be nice to see more of the harrier's face but since it's obvious that he's in hunting mode, I think this works well.

Looking forward to seeing more.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Love the wing position and the head down showing hunting intensity in second post.