Gyrfalcon

[Ágúst Svavar]

I photographed this juvenile last month, just few days after he left his nest. There are few pairs of gyrfalcons nesting around the area where I live and I have been trying the last three summers to find a suitable nest to photograph behavior but haven´t found one yet that is not in high cliffs. Hopefully it will come next year. It´s forbidden by law in Iceland to get near than 500 meters to a gyrfalcon nest without a special permittion from the environmental agency and in partnership with the Icelandic institute of natural history.

I was too close to get the whole bird in the frame so I decited to crop it this way.


Canon 5D3
Ef 600 II
f/6.3
1/2000
iso800

[Bill Dix]

An interesting shot, with good exposure and details, and a unique pose. I find myself wishing I could see more of the bird (we don't often get Gyrs around here), but it can often be a good strategy to crop tight when you can't show the whole bird. You will likely be second-guessed about all sorts of different crop options, so here's mine: I wonder if a vertical showing the whole head would have been possible.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Agust, lovely sharp detail on the head, and what a unique pose with the Falcon seemingly interested in his foot. Comp wise, Im fine with the bottom of the frame, but would have liked to see at least the top of his head with a bit of space too.

[dankearl]

I like it.. lots of interest including the look on the birds face.
Maybe a bit darker?

[Daniel Cadieux]

Neat concept, and sounds like you had a good time with this awesome raptor. I think a bit more room above and right would be just the ticket. I also think warming up the WB and/or boosting the saturation a bit would work. I'd also darken the foot as it seems bright. Good luck finding a good nest next year...and be sure to share the images if you do!

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Hope you get some awesome opportunities with this beautiful falcon species in the next season.
I'd love to see a 1200-pixel version of this shot mate.

Light is a tad harsh and I would probably darken the pupil a little to add some contrast to the eye.
An interesting and most certainly unusual comp.
You could try darkening the whole image by 1/3 - 2/3 of a stop or so.

Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to see more.

[David Salem]

Nice look at this beautiful Gyr. I would love to have the chance to shoot Iceland some day. The light was harsh and the image looks over by at least a third. Add some contrast or some blacks to this to clean it up. Well done