Harrier with coot

[arash_hazeghi]

After enjoying a great thanksgiving, I spent a day shooting with Dave Salem in SoCal las week. We had a great time and Dave took me to his raptor location with some impressive scenes. This is an adult female claiming her coot, perhaps a bit too late for her thanksgiving party.


1DX 600II + 1.4X III f/5.6 1/3200sec ISO 800. handheld from vehicle. Hope you like it

[David Salem]

Hi Arash. Nice shot of this female landing back on her meal. Great look at the under wing and the eyes are well lit in the sun. Love the sharpness if the 1DX and the 600 combo :) I like the color contrast of the meal too.
It was a great time and Im glad you got lots of good raptor shots. Thanks for sharing some of your great processing tips too. See ya soon.

[arash_hazeghi]

It was great shooting Dave,

Did you order a 1DX yet?

[David Salem]

I havent even dumped my cards from the weekend yet to look at all the shots we got. Got back from vacation, then shot the weekend with you, then work all day today:(
After using your camera, I am sold. I didnt want to lose the crop factor of the MKIV but after looking at the ratio of sharp shots as we shot side by side and the ability of the IDX to lock on to birds in a varied BG as opposed to the MKIV, thats it!!
looking for one now!

[arash_hazeghi]

glad you liked it, it's really a no brainer for a great photographer like yourself. I'm sure you'll enjoy it

thanks again!

[gail bisson]

Hi Arash,
Looks like you and David had a great day.
I like the wings up position and the behavior depicted.
IQ is very good.
I wish you had been out of the car and low to the ground to get rid of some of that blah grey rocky ground and capitalize on the lovely BG.
I might take a bit more off the bottom but then that puts the feet close to the edge.
Gail

[Matthew Briggs]

What a great shot to have been taken from your car and hand held :D don't have anything to pick against this.
The pattern on the wings is amazing.

Thank you kindly for sharing this ^.^

[Karl Egressy]

It looks like you spent some time with a genuine great guy (David) and got some great birds.
Love the light, pose, low shooting angle and background.

[MohsenVahedipour]

Excellent light, IQ with lovely pose. TFS

[Shawn Zierman]

Super deluxe northern harrier image, and I can't remember seeing such a great story telling harrier image in quite some time, not to mention the excellent light quality. I really like what's going on in the background on the left hand side...goes very well with the outstretched wings.

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Arash,
Looks like you and David had a great day.
I like the wings up position and the behavior depicted.
IQ is very good.
I wish you had been out of the car and low to the ground to get rid of some of that blah grey rocky ground and capitalize on the lovely BG.
I might take a bit more off the bottom but then that puts the feet close to the edge.
Gail

Thanks Gail!

That's actually not a good idea because 1) The harrier will fly away immateriality and never come back, vehicle was our blind 2) when shooting flight and action you don't want to be laying on the ground because you cannot swing the lens, will miss!


best

Arash

[yogesh_puranik]

excellent shot & great behavior. I wish i was there in SoCal & could have been memorable experience to join both of you great photographers..

[Roman Kurywczak]

Great behavior Arash! Rest looks awesome too!

[Jamie Douglas]

Very nice Arash, my only comment it that I am not sure if I am seeing a little less detail in the lower half of the Harrier compared to the upper unless of course, that it just the effect of the changing background/foreground tones.


Cheers for sharing

Jamie

[Gerald Kelberg]

Nice to see a coot being put to good use! We seem to have a plague of them over here.


G.

[shane shacaluga]

Lovely wing and tail position, and killer look on the eyes and face. BG is very good but not too keen on that gravel ground. But hey its what was there at the time.

I see an OOF feather or a missed masking spot close to the tip of the first wing feather on the birds right wing.

TFS

[Arthur Morris]

Arash, Love the view of the left underwing, the sharpness and soft colors, and the quizzical look on the bird's face. Not much left of the coot? Was the bird re-landing?


Where was the image taken? Who was in the back seat?

[Satish Ranadive]

Spectacular image of beautiful lady with her lunch. Great lights, beautiful colors and wonderful details. Just love it.

Regards,
Satish.

[Girish Prahalad]

literally a killer image! great pose, IQ & pose.

[arash_hazeghi]

Arash, Love the view of the left underwing, the sharpness and soft colors, and the quizzical look on the bird's face. Not much left of the coot? Was the bird re-landing?


Where was the image taken? Who was in the back seat?

Hi Artie,

yes the bird was re-landing on her meal. it was a scavanage and other harriers had already fed on it.

image was taken in San Joaquin (SoCal), Dave Salem was driving and I was on the back seat.

best

Arash

[arash_hazeghi]

thanks everyone

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Great image Arash. Now you've got me waiting to see some more images from you and David!