Peregrine Falcon ready to Dive

[Raymond Barlow]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y281/rammy111111/DSC_3657w.jpg

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
hand held, natural light, 80% of full frame

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)
1/1250s f/4.0 at 400.0mm iso250
Cloned out a tag on the birds left leg.

A short burst of 5 frames, this is the only one with the bird in the center of the frame... I couldn't even guess how fast he was going!

Thanks to Nikon for an awesome focusing system., fast enough for a Peregrine.

What an awesome bird.

[Julie Kenward]

Wow! You must have been cheering when you saw this was in your camera! Great action shot. Two things: First, I'd think about cloning all the white spots out and leaving him surrounded by that lovely green BG. The white is so hot it really detracts from the focus of the bird. Also, next time, depending on how far away he is, you might try some fill flash as you have great detail under most of the bird but you lost some to the deep shadows of the wings. You might try recovering that in pp. Great sharpness on the bird and even though he's looking away from you, it totally makes the shot as the viewer can tell that he has other things on his mind!

[Doug Brown]

I'm sure you were thrilled to get this guy in focus and in the center of the frame Raymond; I know I would have been! The tail and the far wing look great, but the near wing position and the head angle are less than ideal. I also find the white water to be a bit of a distraction. Thanks for posting!

[Jay Tan]

Pretty interesting pose! True that the head angle is a slight pity but well, given how fast this bird is, getting it in such a pose is already a feat!