SoCal Harrier

[arash_hazeghi]

This is a female harrier I photographed with Dave Salem last year in Southern California.


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

[David Salem]

That was a fun morning shooting raptors and Im glad you got these shots of this good looking female Harrier. What a great looking pose showing all the primaries and the eye contact is solid. Killer feather detail.
I know you hadnt shot from a vehicle much but you did great and made some awesome captures. Well done.

[Enrique Patino]

Great image Arash, as usual. But I wonder if the whites are blown.... i see no details and with the sampler tool found some "hot" (>245-251) spots in the white...

[Iain Barker]

You really nail these flight shots Arash. I wish I could get just one of this quality.

How do you find your subjects? Do you drive until you find them or wait at an area you know they'll turn up?

Iain

[Marina Scarr]

What a killer flight image for a harrier, Arash. Great light, angle and feather spread.

[arash_hazeghi]

Great image Arash, as usual. But I wonder if the whites are blown.... i see no details and with the sampler tool found some "hot" (>245-251) spots in the white...

Thanks Enrique, the whites are not blown. Nothern Harriers's rump is pure white and doesn't have much details. I use it to set white point which I prefer at 250 level.

[arash_hazeghi]

thanks everyone

[Glenn Conlan]

Nice topside view Arash, glad you got a keeper from your visit. It has been a slow year for Harriers due to the nice weather, we are in desperate need of some storms for water and to drive the birds down from the north.

Glenn

[Doug Brown]

About as good as it gets Arash! Fantastic pose and excellent sharpness.

[Enrique Patino]

Thanks Enrique, the whites are not blown. Nothern Harriers's rump is pure white and doesn't have much details. I use it to set white point which I prefer at 250 level.

that makes sense. thanks!

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Arash,
nice shot, good exposed,good comp, nice colors. I would drop exposure in the mid tones a fraction , a bit thin in tonal range, just my take.
And i agree the whites are looking not hot , but recovered with no detail just looking flat and not white .i measured 220 in rgb or 88 in LAB which means there is room to be white.
Looking at your snowy owls images they have more detail in the whites than this section of this bird.

Still a great shot though

TFS Andreas

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Arash,
nice shot, good exposed,good comp, nice colors. I would drop exposure in the mid tones a fraction , a bit thin in tonal range, just my take.
And i agree the whites are looking not hot , but recovered with no detail just looking flat and not white .i measured 220 in rgb or 88 in LAB which means there is room to be white.
Looking at your snowy owls images they have more detail in the whites than this section of this bird.

Still a great shot though

TFS Andreas

Thanks Andreas, but the whites were not recovered here.

You can't compare a snowy owl with a northern harrier, their plumage is totally different. I'm not sure if you have seen a northern harrier (do you see them in Europe?) but I don't think you will much feather detail in a rump of harrier unless you use macro lens and shoot from very close. I think it's the feather structure, I have many shots of this specie and I don't see much detail in that area usually.

best

[dankearl]

Love the BG, Arash.
Very nice pose as well….

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the wing position, fanned tail, eye contact, IQ and composition. Another beauty Arash!

[Loi Nguyen]

Perfect pose, sharpness, good light, and beautiful BG. Love it. TFS. Loi

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Super shot Arash. The pose doesn't get any better and the bg is awesome, not to mention the excellent details.

[BobbyPerkins]

Love the Over the top position, had angle and that fanned out tail. One of my favorite subjects as thier flight never ceases to amaze me in a steady, even gentle breeze they move effortlessly and "surf" the wind. Like the soft-variant background too.
Arash do you run a gaussin or surface blur to the background at all on your images?

[eddyswan]

Excellent flight pose, beautiful wing position and nice HA.

[Richard Flack]

Awesome! Very inspiring...

[David Salem]

That was a fun morning shooting Arash. Great flaring shot with a nice look at the primaries and tail feathers. The detail and Exposure look right on.
You are right about the rump feathers, they dont have any detail, they are solid white. See ya soon.

[keith mitchell]

Gives us lesser mortals something to aim for, its one excellent shot.

Keith.

[shane shacaluga]

Another cracker!

all has been said above

in europe we hve a couple of harriers with the white rump and it seems to be the same, with very few details showing even if exp is perfect

[Holger Leyrer]

Wonderful image. I love the spread wings and tail. And the eye contact , too. Perfect exposure control and great BG.

[mohammad reza shahab]

hi Arash
Excellent flight pose, beautiful wing position and Perfect exposure.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Love that bg Arash and amazing detail as always.

[arash_hazeghi]

Love the Over the top position, had angle and that fanned out tail. One of my favorite subjects as thier flight never ceases to amaze me in a steady, even gentle breeze they move effortlessly and "surf" the wind. Like the soft-variant background too.
Arash do you run a gaussin or surface blur to the background at all on your images?

Hi Bob,

I never run Guassian blur on my photos, and I advise folks not to. The natural lens blur that results from aperture blades is not Guassian. Applying Gussian blur will make the photo look "fake" and edited to the trained eye. The best way to achieve a smooth BG is use long focal length and open apertures

best

Arash

[arash_hazeghi]

thanks everyone

[Frank Schauf]

Excellent flight pose and sharp details.