Northern Harrier

[Rick Bowers]

Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus), adult male - Minnesota, USA - June

Shot from a car window. One of only two times I've had a Northern Harrier not bolt from a perch when the car has stopped. I like the few just OOF grass stems that show its in a grassland, its preferred breeding habitat.

20D, 500 f4 + 1.4, 1/320 sec; f/5.6; ISO 100, resting on car window.

[gail bisson]

This is a shot I have dreamed of getting. I only see them in the air or on the ground obscured by grasses.
I like the comp and the BG and the perch.
I feel that the legs and eye look overly saturated- at least compared to the northern harriers in Nova Scotia!
I would also sharpen the harrier a bit more on the back especially,
Gail

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Nice muted light and lucky you to get this photo op. Also nice that you got some great eye contact. I would run some NR on the bg if this were mine. Nice job getting the shot!

[Bill Dix]

This is lovely. I almost never see the Grey Ghost, much less photograph one. Good work catching him in such a nice pose and setting. I agree with Gail that the back seems to need a bit more USM, and the post may have a bit too much.

[dankearl]

Tweaks noted, but a great photo, getting this bird sitting at a close distance is beyond lucky.
You made the most of this, congrats.

[MohsenVahedipour]

Very nice head turn with lovely light & BG. I would suggest another round of sharpening & NR on the BG, as mentioned above. TFS

[Doug Brown]

How lucky to get a handsome male to hang around for a photo op! Like the eye contact and habitat. I do agree that the yellows in the eye and legs are a little oversaturated, and I would have pushed the ISO a little higher to get some additional DOF.

[Loi Nguyen]

Lovely portrait, good eye contact, and a killer BG. Looks more like a painting than a photograph. Not sure where your focus point was, the head seems a tough soft I think. There is also a small halo along the head and back. Loi

[Grace Scalzo]

I cannot add to the above excellent suggestions. Emply them, and you've got a great image for your files.

[Daniel Cadieux]

What an opportunity!! Lovely composition, good, light, awesome BG. I like the grasses too, I'd probably soften the one at right edge with a low opacity clone brush but man all else looks terrific!!