Female Northern Harrier

[Bob Pelkey]

Canon 1DM4, 600mm, 1/2500, ISO 640, f/5, AP, +2 EB, tripod panning, moderate crop, slight fill light, slight brightening, left eye brightened further, Unsharp Mask, no noise reduction.

While attempting to get closer to the four Wild Turkeys observed at Sarasota's Myakka River State Park on 8 January 2014, this Northern Harrier flew directly over me silently. It was late in the morning, so the overcast conditions were working favorably. I, of course, wish the bird's tail feathers were splayed out.

[keith mitchell]

Agree with the tail spread out would have been nice but hey! it's not a perfect world, you have some great detail and I do like the bird on that rather stark BG.

Keith.

[Marina Scarr]

Interesting peek at the underbelly of this super raptor. I like the high key.

[shane shacaluga]

I like the high key as well. Nice details and well exposed

The turned head also adds interest. Maybe placing the bird a bit further right in the frame so she can look into some more space?

TFS

[Shawn Zierman]

The exposure work is very good and the eye contact is strong and compelling. I like the flight pose and the size of the subject in the frame. The subject placement is a little too central imo, particularly due to the strong directional stare of the harrier. Extending canavas any which way on this image would be easy, if you are not ethically opposed. I worked a crop that put the harrier to the right a bit more, with more negative space on the left hand side for the bird to gaze into. I thought the composition was just a bit better that way...

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the details, sharpness and exposure. Good advice from Shawn regarding composition. Nice image Bob.