Northern Harrier #2

[gail bisson]

Canon 1 DX 600 mm 1.4x
F 7.1 SS 1/3200 ISO 100
Nothing cloned or added in this one.
Full frame pano crop.
PP: Processed in DPP4.3 Crop to pano, increased exposure by .5, raised shadows +2, increase saturation by .5, to CS5 for NR and USM to JPEG. Also did DE to shadowed part of face at 2%. I tried lifting the shadow completely but it just didn't look natural.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[dankearl]

An amazing head on look...
The Harrier looks like a flying bat, very interesting..

[Ross Taylor]

Hi Gail,

The tilted head and eye contact sold me on this image. Then I studied the background and love it even more :) The marsh vegetation looks like it was painted in water colors, and the soft hue of the sky is fabulous. This image is simply inspiring, Gail!

I wonder if dropping the overall contrast a little may help with the shadowed part of the face, and give the bird a slightly softer look?

Thanks for posting this Harrier!
Ross

[David Cowling]

Love the tilt of the head and the eye contact, also the catchlight in the right eye. Very well done.

[William Dickson]

The bird is coming towards us, with a curious look about it. Every picture tells a story. and this one captures the imagination Nice one Gail

Will

[Karl Egressy]

Nice incoming shot, Gail. I like the tilted head and the eyes.

[Grace Scalzo]

Perfect image for a pano and I love that tilted head. Real tough bird to photograph and you nailed this one.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Super! That head tilt makes this image that much more special. Terrific opportunity you had...it's not every day you get to photograph[h a harrier head-on like this.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Very nice, head-on!
Well done. I managed to snare a similar shot of our Swamp Harrier a couple of years ago with a similar head pose.

I like the soft side light and the pano crop.

Thanks for sharing Gail.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Nice head on harrier. The tilted head adds to the image. Thanks for sharing, Gail.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail great eye contact here, and well timed to have captured the head turn. I feel your central placement works well, as does the pano crop. Lovely pastel colours to the BG.

[Eric Dienesch]

Those eyes and the diagonal head are stunning, a great capture.
central is right here for me !

[Jim Crosswell]

A real beauty Gail! I like the composition, light, head tilt and setting.

[David Salem]

Good to see you getting some nice Harrier action. I like the inquisitive pose with the head turned and I like the BG color transition. Details and the pano comp look sweet too. I might try to selectively lighten the left eye area with a brush tool. Your gona have to come out here sometime and shoot raptors with us.
Was this handheld or were you set up in a spot with a tripod?
Great job Gail

[gail bisson]

Hi Dave,
I was lying on my belly waiting for shorebirds to land on the mudflats, using a Skimmer pad and covered by a Kwik Camo bag blind when this guy and his sibling landed 20 feet away from me! Unfortunately, they landed in the grasses so I did not have a clear shot of them while they preened and rested for 45 minutes!( I was too low). As you know, they are super skittish so I could not move an inch for fear of making them fly. I waited patiently for them to take-off which they did. The wind was directly behind me so I knew that I would get a head on shot. Sure wish I had been on a tripod to get higher but still thrilled with the close encounter!

[David Salem]

Awesome! That's pretty typical Harrier behavior. We get allot of them during the winter and some days they are everywhere and others you don't see many. We used to think that they somehow left, but after years of observing them, we realized that they were doing exactly what you saw, sitting on the ground for hours sometimes.
You're making good decisions and you sure have the patience it takes to be a great wildlife photographer, not that you're not already :)