Peregine falcon

[Jonathan Ashton]

Hand held Canon 1DX Canon 500mm f4 & 1.4TC ISO500 1/2000 sec f5.6
Barney woke me up early and he insisted we went for a walk, I decided to take him for a short walk firstly so I could then go alone to see if the barn owl was still about. I got myself positioned in a hedgerow and waited, camera set to manual exposure and settings checked, I also set the camera to silent mode as the shutter sounds a bit like a machine gun going off and the owls aren't too keen on the noise. Well sure enough the owl turned up but so did this peregrine, I took a few shots cursing myself for setting the camera to silent mode! I managed about six frames getting the focus point bang on the eye on one particular occasion and the pose was just right - but the image was soft. This one seems to be sharp enough but the one I really wanted was a better pose. The silent mode is useful but the frame rate is much slower, still I am quite pleased with this..maybe next time I will do better.

[Randy Stout]

Jon:

Classic story of being setup for one situation, and something very different pops up! I just go ahead and fire away and hope for the best, as you did.

The angle of the light really emphasizes the head and breast. If you haven't done so already, perhaps the shadows can be opened up a bit more. I like the feel that he is climbing, but wish he was angled a bit more our way.

Well framed to give room to fly up into.

Cheers

Randy

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Jon, not easy capturing one of the fastest fliers around, but you certainly captured him nicely in the frame. The angle is a bit steep, but the light is cast nicely on the head and eye. As Randy mentioned, if you havent already, opening up the shadows wont harm.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Is this a young bird? In Australia the young ones look similar.
Agree about angle, though you still managed a decent flight shot.
I love using the silent shutter on the 5D3, but hate how slow it is.
You still got something good, so should be pretty stoked. Looks like the falcon just ate too.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks for the feedback, I haven't a clue how old the bird is, the main thing I noticed was that it appeared to be quite large - and now it's been mentioned that crop is bulging! I have lifted the shadows, the shot was taken early morning so the light/bird angle was not ideal.

[adrian dancy]

Excellent flight image Jonathan. I would not be tempted to get more brightness in the underwings. The bird is a juvenile and just a few months old. I imagine there is an adult and plucking post about nearby:)

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent flight shot, Jonathan.

Regards,
Satish.