Peregrine love

[Glenn Conlan]

On the Pacific coast of California, Peregrines are in great numbers this is a new pair that I caught in the act. Nikon D4, 600mm E FLVr with 1.4tc, F5.6, ISO 4000 and 1/2000sec hand held. Thanks for looking all critics welcome

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Glenn, Patrick was telling me about this one in glowing terms. He did not do it justice. This is beyond spectacular. The wing position and pose of the male is amazing. What's with the curled talons? Have you ever seen anything like that before? Not too mention the sweet color tones of the distant BKGR. I keep going back to look at it.

I think that a selectively applied Contrast Mask (Unsharp Mask 1t 15/65/0) to the top of the female's head and face (and then pull the curve up a bit) would make an amazing image just a bit better.

a

ps: hope to see you down here SAT or SUN. I fly home on MON.

[Glenn Conlan]

Nature gave these amazing raptors a great method of dealing with their needle sharp talons during copulation without impaling their mate. Thanks for the critique, much appreciated. Hope your feeling better. Thanks for hooking me up with Patrick at La Jolla last Saturday he showed me the ropes with the Brandt's Cormorants, we had a great time. See you this weekend.

Glenn

[Patrick Sparkman]

Thank you so much for sharing this Glenn! I love seeing it on my computer rather than the phone. Other than Artie's suggestion, I wouldn't change a thing. Supreme capture. Is that the female's tail twisted out to her left?

[arash_hazeghi]

one of the best Peregrine shots I have seen Glenn, top notch

wish it was mine

[David Salem]

I was blown away when you first showed this to me!! The best copulation shot I have ever seen!!
The males pose is awesome with a great HA and wing position and it shows the tender clutched feet and talons so well.
Congrats on getting this one buddy.

[christopher galeski]

One word Glenn,stunning.very well done.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Wow, how cool is that! Really nicely done. Poses, BG, processing...all top notch. One that pretty much all of us would love in our files.

[Glenn Conlan]

Thanks for the kind words, means alot coming from all of you.

[Marina Scarr]

This is a wow image and must have been a wow experience for you to witness! The male's wing pose is spectacular as is your BG. The fact that you can see how the male is taking care not to harm the female with his talons is beyond amazing! The cliff gives you the sense of place. This is a contest entry all day long!

[John Robinson]

All been said.
very well done,
JohnR

[adrian dancy]

What a cracking image...this has everything. Wish it were mine!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Glenn, I like the light in this, together with the DOF that shows both Falcons in perfect focus and sharpness. The show of the males folded feet takes this over the top. Well captured.

[Arthur Morris]

While I was out at the cliffs this morning I realized that I should have suggested opening up the female's head in addition to the Contrast Mask I mentioned above. LMK if you think the repost is an improvement or a botch job on a great image. a

[Arthur Morris]

ps: Out of curiosity, please tell us how you used AF to create this image. a

[Jim Neiger]

Glenn, This is truly a stunning image! Congrats!

[William Dickson]

What else can we say about this. An awesome image, and I really love how the male has tucked his talons, that's love.

TFS

Will

[Glenn Conlan]

This is a wow image and must have been a wow experience for you to witness! The male's wing pose is spectacular as is your BG. The fact that you can see how the male is taking care not to harm the female with his talons is beyond amazing! The cliff gives you the sense of place. This is a contest entry all day long!

Thanks for your encouraging words Marina

[Mike Poole]

No need to wax lyrical, I can only echo previous comments, this is a real stunner.

Mike

[Glenn Conlan]

ps: Out of curiosity, please tell us how you used AF to create this image. a

Artie thanks for the touch up, I am very weak when it comes to post processing and sometimes the critics are not always understood as far as the mechanics go. You definitely brought out more detail in her head thanks for the advise. If you understand your subjects behavior it helps a lot to anticipate what can happen. In this case the female sat in a spot on the cliff and was vocalizing for her mate who was also in visible view. Using the backbutton, I prefocused on her and when he left his spot I was pretty much ready for the action and started releasing the shutter prior to his arrival for a 30 to 40 frame burst, The focal plane remained fairly constant on his head and almost all the frames were very sharp, this one with the better head position. I use 11 point autofocus. It was a very overcast day and the sun angle was not a very important consideration. I have many other images from a different angle but had too much lens and ended up clipping the males wings

[Jim Crosswell]

Great image Glenn!

[Matthew Jones]

Simply STUNNING! and impeccable insight into Peregrine mating behaviour, congrats Glenn.

[Jon Groves]

This is incredible! What a treat to have peregrines in a natural cliff setting tolerant enough to exhibit such behavior. I'm blown away, well done!

[James Salywoda]

Incredible Image Glenn Congrats!!!!

[Arthur Morris]

Artie thanks for the touch up, I am very weak when it comes to post processing and sometimes the critics are not always understood as far as the mechanics go. You definitely brought out more detail in her head thanks for the advise. If you understand your subjects behavior it helps a lot to anticipate what can happen. In this case the female sat in a spot on the cliff and was vocalizing for her mate who was also in visible view. Using the backbutton, I prefocused on her and when he left his spot I was pretty much ready for the action and started releasing the shutter prior to his arrival for a 30 to 40 frame burst, The focal plane remained fairly constant on his head and almost all the frames were very sharp, this one with the better head position. I use 11 point autofocus. It was a very overcast day and the sun angle was not a very important consideration. I have many other images from a different angle but had too much lens and ended up clipping the males wings

Hey Glenn, You are welcome. Best advise on the Photoshop stuff (assuming that you own a copy ) is to get a copy of my Digital Basics file. It has explicit directions for using the NIK Color EFEX Pro plug-in which is now free to all. You can learn how to get a free copy here.

Can you explain how the Nikon 11-point AF system works? Do you start with the AF point in the middle and then let it do its thing?

I would, with your permission, love to feature this image on the blog. LMK if that works for you. a