"Touch Down"

[David Salem]

Caught this beautiful female Merlin coming in for a landing with this nice wings up pose last fall. It took quit a few attempts to get this one as the DOF @840mm is pretty limited and getting the wings on the same focal plane as the head is pretty tricky.

1DX---840mm---f6.3---ss1/3200th---ISO640---Handheld@8:45am---35% crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input. I appreciate it.

David

[Tim Foltz]

Dave, Great shot, nice wing position, details, HA, BG, and the square crop works well.

-Tim

[arash_hazeghi]

Can't ask for a better shot than this. love the light and BG, the open wings add so much drama. If mine I'd tone down the contrast a bit...sweet light.

TFS

[gail bisson]

Simply awesome.
I wish this was mine!No feather mites on her.
Love the symmetrical pose and the alula's being so well seen.
Whites are close to hot near the throat but, if you back off on the contrast a bit-as Arash suggested, they would probably recover well.
Just wonderful Dave.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hey David, I concur with all that has been said by others. Wonderful image, about as perfect as can be. I agree with Arash, a little less contrast. Thank you for sharing.

[Bill Dix]

Great pose and beautiful light. I love the tension, at that moment when she hasn't quite fully balanced on the perch, hanging on with the talons.

[Isaac Grant]

I love this one Dave. The wing position, background, details are all top notch. Whites look fine to me. As amazing as this shot looks here, the full res version is just leagues better. Your photos really are fantastic. Every one that you post is not only sharp, well exposed and with a perfect background, but they all have that wow factor that we strive for every time we go out in the field.

[John Whaley]

It is a wonderful image David. Great timing here. Merlin's are so quick that I almost never get the landing / take off, just the sitting. Great dynamic landing pose and smooth bg.

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments and critiques. I always appreciate them.
To be honest I do not find this image to be contrasty in any way or need a reduction in contrast? It might be just a little bright white under the chin but it is not blown at all.
As some of you may know, I am a stickler on White Whites. I can't stand muted grey whites so I always make sure they are not blown and are as pure as possible.
I think that sometimes people see a clean bright white area on a subject and instantly think that it's hot when in reality its bright white in real life and not blown on the image.
Not always the case but I do see many critiques on images that are claiming the whites are hot when in actuality they may not be.
Its a very subtle thing sometimes to see and on some birds, like a harriers rump, there just isn't any noticeable feather detail. So what to do there? Burn it to a muted grey?
No, its nice and white without much detail, just like it is if you had the bird in your hands. Not trying to be confrontational about it, just bringing up some things that I notice.
Thanks again everyone

[John Mack]

Very nice. Love the pose on the bird and the sharpness throughout. Everybody wants to see all the detail in everything wether it's a bird or a landscape.

[annmpacheco]

Dave,
what a frame, and such wonderful quality... Round of applause and WOWSA!!! You da rock star my friend!

[Arthur Morris]

I'd say Touchdown! I think that folks are suggesting that you tone down the contrast a bit as I thought that it was a flash shot. Killer on all counts. I too like to defend my processing choices :) Not bad for Canon. What's with the sky???

with love, artie

[arash_hazeghi]

On my monitor it looks a bit contrasty I think it might be difference in monitor calibration and brightness setting.

[David Salem]

I'd say Touchdown! I think that folks are suggesting that you tone down the contrast a bit as I thought that it was a flash shot. Killer on all counts. I too like to defend my processing choices :) Not bad for Canon. What's with the sky???

with love, artie

Thanks Artie! Glad you like it.

No flash used, just nice intense So Cal lighting

That isn't the sky, thats a distant hillside. In my are there are hills in the BG and they create lots of different and interesting BG colors depending on your physical location and the lighting on the hills.

Thanks again.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Artie! Glad you like it.

No flash used, just nice intense So Cal lighting

That isn't the sky, thats a distant hillside. In my are there are hills in the BG and they create lots of different and interesting BG colors depending on your physical location and the lighting on the hills.

Thanks again.

Thanks Dave. Sweet BKGR. Was there sun on the bird? Was the BKGR shaded?

with love, artie

[David Salem]

On my monitor it looks a bit contrasty I think it might be difference in monitor calibration and brightness setting.

Thanks Arash, I think you are right. I was discussing that fact with a friend last night. Monitor to monitor brand can be a bit different and personal settings of brightness makes everybody see things a bit different depending on their monitor and settings.

Thanks

[Arthur Morris]

On my monitor it looks a bit contrasty I think it might be difference in monitor calibration and brightness setting.

Agree. As you know, I have been dealing with similar issues :)

with love, artie

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dave, you always seem to capture an image just a tad better than the average Well obviously, this far better than an average shot. Very well timed to capture the perching moment with the raised wings. Love the eye contact, and I do like the detail and colours. I dont see any reason to touch the contrast, and if anything, I would have preferred a typical landscape comp.

[David Salem]

Thanks Dave. Sweet BKGR. Was there sun on the bird? Was the BKGR shaded?

with love, artie

Thanks again Artie

It was a very bright sunny morning so there was definitely tons of sun on the bird and Im almost positive that the hillside was in full sun too. Sometimes we can sit there with the bird in the viewfinder and watch the distant hillside get shaded by a oncoming cloud. It makes for a very cool and dramatic change to the Bg and it sometimes happens in stages as the clouds are moving in and out. You can get 3-4 different BGs in just a few seconds shooting the same bird on the same perch. Thinking about it, I might try to find a good example of it to post on the site sometime. A good example of how dramatic a BG can change the look of an image.
Many times we have been shooting a beautiful scene and then the whole look changes in a second. Lots of times for the better making all the others that I shot for the lat 20 minutes look plain and mundane.

Thanks again

[Stuart Philpott]

David,I see many incredibly images here,just looking at the images posted,makes one want to try harder. This one I find incredibly special,it's all those details one craves nailed andsome!!! Stunning bkg and unusual at that !! Coupled with a split angelic moment in a speedsters'life
jaw dropping David simply so.
cheers also for the dialogue...fascinating reading

WOW what an incredible picture,cheers for sharing David stunning work beautiful to behold,what a joy

ha ha you really do inspire me kiiddo,sorry for going on.

take care

Stu