Peregrine Falcon (tundrius)

[Erik Hedlin]

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5463/9052024999_c169c3baa7_b.jpg

I realize it's distracting to have the background at an angle, but I liked the photo even less when I straightened it.

Canon 7D + 400 f/5.6L
f 5.6
1/5000
ISO 640
Handheld
1/3 crop
Some sharpening and NR

[Troy Lim]

But your tracking ability was good. You got this fast bird in flight.
Anymore room on the bottom?

[PhilCook]

Troy has commented well, and a slight shame about the backdrop.......but excellent getting such a sharp shot of a supersonic moving bird, liking a lot the down swept wings and head clear of them, under wing light is well handled as well. I presume this is in a sanctuary or similar judging by the leg band ?

[Ian Cassell]

Erik, Great high-speed capture. I'm at my work computer so can't try it from here, but wonder if the effect of the angled background might be mitigated by eliminating the blue in the lower right and making it blend better with the other muted background colors.

[Grace Scalzo]

Erik, this has the potential to be a wonderful photograph. The species is terrific and you did well to get him in the frame. I think that Ian has a great suggestion about eliminating the blue. I see that you cropped it some...could you crop it less? It feels a bit crowded in the frame to me. I would also sharpen a bit more. Please let us know what you decide to do.

[Bill Dix]

What an amazing job capturing this speedster in flight! Great wing position and detail, although I would sharpen the head just a bit more. Some good comments above re. the BG. The image is certainly worth some extra work -- possibly removing the blue and toning down the whites to make it less distracting?

[Marina Scarr]

Great job on getting this bullet sharp in flight. Nice pose and angle. While not my first choice in a BG, I find it interesting. I would add a little bit of space at the bottom if you have it and remove the noise on the BG.

[Erik Hedlin]

Points taken!! Now that they've been pointed out, I completely agree with re-cropping and either getting rid of, or toning down the harsh blue in the corner. Phil, this picture was taken in the wild. I'm currently working on a research project near Rankin Inlet Nunavut, and we've been putting both USFW and colour leg bands on these birds for a number of years now so it's hard to get a bird not wearing bracelets!