Hunting Harrier

[John Blumenkamp]

Here is a harrier doing what it seems harriers do best... captured here in northern Utah near the Great Salt Lake.

40D w/ 400 5.6L
1/1500 f/5.6 iso200

Thanks for looking,
John

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great setting, light, wing position and details. I only wish for a bit more eye contact.

[Doug Brown]

Love the habitat, light, and sharpness. I'd also like some more eye contact (I'm sure you would too!) and I'd move the bird slightly to the left in the frame.

[denise ippolito]

John, I agree w/ the experts here but I have to say-nice capture! The lighting looks fantastic.

[Dave Leroy]

Very interesting to see the vertical presentation John. I like it. Dave

[Lyall Bouchard]

This harrier is doing what harriers do best, watching the grass below for its prey. I like the composition in the photo, in particular how the angles of his wings are matched by the angles of the hills in the background. One of my favorite species, but not easy to capture.

[Bonnie Block]

Like this one, John. Harriers like to look at the ground--;)
I also like the subtle uplift of the bg matching the wings. Possible moving the image left, with more room to the right.

[Jon Thornton]

Lovely shot John. If the bird were looking at you, the photo would communicate information about your interaction with the bird. The bird however, is not looking at you. It is looking at the ground, scanning for prey. As such, your photo communicates information about how the bird hunts for prey.

Personally, I prefer images that speak about a bird's interactions with its environment, to images that speak about a bird's interaction with the photographer.

I would be interested in comments from the "eye contact" crowd about this.