Peregrine Falcon over Niagara

[Raymond Barlow]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y281/rammy111111/DSC_2279w.jpg

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Nikon D300 (http://www.pbase.com/cameras/nikon/d300) ,Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR (http://www.pbase.com/cameras/nikon/200-400_4g_afs_vr)
1/400s f/4.0 at 400.0mm iso320
hand held, natural light, 70% of full frame

A big thanks to my friends Brandon Holden, and Karl Egressy for helping me get hooked on shooting this very cool bird at Niagara.

[Doug Brown]

Stunningly sharp image Raymond! Shutter speed wasn't too fast; did you have some serious wind? And a unique view of a beautiful bird against a striking turquoise BG. I like it a lot!

[James Salywoda]

Super sweet Ray I love the upper wing angle of capture and beautiful bg...

[Ramon M. Casares]

PERFECT to me.

[Juan Aragonés]

Raymond this one is really good, the pose is perfect, very "peregrine";) and the Bg is so unusual and and good that made the bird shines like a jewell. Supersharp and what a great light. Mi first though about this one was "hey an eye contact would be very nice" but now I think that it doesn´t need an eyecontact because the bird looks to be concentrated in an target, out of the frame, complimenting very well the action. I think I would go crazy if I could take an image like this one. Amazing

[Ken Watkins]

Now that is a classy hand-held shot, stunning.

[David Hemmings]

Sweet capture Ray, what a beautiful bird, love the bg:)

[Nikolay Staykov - shotlandetsa]

this photo should be a dream come true for you !!! this bird is so rare!
I have got also the chance to photo it, but it was so far from me, yet I was staying whell hidden in a cliff.
http://www.all4mypics.com/displayimage.php?pos=-824

[Stephen Stephen]

Beautiful capture Ray. The bird really pops against the background.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great details, pose and the BG makes this one for me. A bit more eye contact and/or catchlight would have been great but it works as presented.

[Glenn Bartley]

Really cool Ray. Just wish for a head turn / eye contact.

[Raymond Barlow]

thanks everyone for the cool comments., Glen and Axel.. there was no direct sunlight, so a catchlight would be close to impossible., and when a bird has a target as such, I can't really expect a head turn, in fact, I think a head turn in this situation would trash the image.

If I was lower (impossible), or the bird was higher, I think the shot would be improved, but it is what it is, and as usual, I am doning my best.

[Fernando Cerra]

I join in congratulating you for this great image, transmits a live like sensation.

[hans stel]

More than nice! What a shot!

[IvoZafirov]

Fantastic image! Peregrine in action from above on a nice background! Thats the photo I want!

[Fabs Forns]

I had missed this before, glad Ivo made a comment that made me look for the image.

Big congrats, Ray, tremendous image! I like it as presented.