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Thread: Peregrine on the Fly

  1. #1
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    Default Peregrine on the Fly

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    1/400s f/4.0 at 400.0mm iso320
    D300 / 200-400 VR
    natural light, hand held, 50% of ff

    Believe it or not, I was not looking through the viewfinder when I fired this frame.,
    taken last summer while the peregrines were nesting here at the Falls... Bg is the Niagara River
    about 1/4 mile downstream of the falls.

    Sure wish they were nesting here this year!

    thanks for looking.

  2. #2
    Forum Participant Manos Papadomanolakis's Avatar
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    fantastic bg`s color,pose,wing position,I would prefer to see a bit more eye contact!

  3. #3
    Gal Shon
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    I really like the viewing angle and the beautiful BG,
    Eye contact would have improve

  4. #4
    Axel Hildebrandt
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    Cool pose, good sharpness, BG and light. I might give it more room at the top. Question is what were you looking at? :)

  5. #5
    Ákos Lumnitzer
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    I feel your image perfectly illustrates the speed of these guys. Well done mate. Great BG and sharp as. :)

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    A bit more room on top would be nice bit this is indeed a powerfull and stunnnig image! Great light, pose, BG, detail and colors.
    Congratulaitons!

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Hey Ray, Spectacular top shot. Amazing. I love the folded wings and the feeling of speed. Where in the world were you looking???
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  8. #8
    Rohan Kamath
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    As already mentioned, the image gives a superb feeling of speed. I really loved the angle of the shot. Wish there had been a slight head turn and eye contact.

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    Hi everyone, thanks for the nice comments... the story is a bit interesting... this adult came off the cliff below me at the Falls gorge, and flew towards the falls ( to my right) almost into the falls, but it was using the updraft to gain altitude.

    At the point where the bird turned around and was heading directly for me, I would guess it was about 100 feet above ground level over the falls., then the falcon gets into a stoop, and comes screaming into my area again, trying to do a surprise attack on some songbirds to my left.

    This bird was not exactly in stroll mode, so I started to try to get a lock on it early, while it still had the sky as a background. As it came closer, and the background became the falls and the river, I figured there was no hope!

    I stayed with it as long as I could, but knew I wouldn't be able to track it with this big heavy lens when it went by, about 50-60 mph. so... "Believe it or not", I held the camera away from my face and tracked the bird by aiming... and no viewfinder. The finger held down the shutter, the camera kept firing, and the bird was gone in a split second.

    There were literally 100s of people walking up and down the sidewalk along the gorge, and I wonder if anyone knew what had just happened, or if anyone saw the look on my face when I realized the bird was in focus, and un-clipped.

    Naturally, the smile was enormous, and right away, I was back at it looking for more! I swear on my mother’s grave this is all true.

    after posting this image, something tells me I had posted it here on BPN earlier this year., bit I am not sure, sorry if I did, my memory is not what it used to be.


    take good care.

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    honestly, for those who wish there was a head turn, I completely disagree... A head turn in this type of flight situation would suggest interferance from the photographer... this bird was hunting, and that is exactly what I was hoping to capture...

    If I was 20 feet lower hanging from ropes over the cliff., a better view of the eye would have been good., but we take what we can get.,

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    The angle of flight certainly shows the speed of these guys. Super dorsal view, and stands out nicely against the BG. Another vote for more space on top.

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    Just killer Ray, one amazing peregrine image, one of the best I have ever seen. The BG is just beautifull and the action fantastic. Perfect composition IMO and sweet light with lots of details in the top side of the bird. I couldn´t agree with you more on the head turn and the interaction with the photographer, much, much powerfull with the peregrine looking at the target instead of looking to the photographer.

    Would love to have this one hanging on my wall buddy ;-)

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    Beautiful shot showing a natural going for the kill pose, agree to a little more room on top, congrats...

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    Alot of great Peregrine images posted here this year and this is one of my favorites!

  15. #15
    Dr.Pranay Rao Juvvadi
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    Tracking a peregrine through the viewfinder is difficult enough! The colour od the water is amazing. I would prefer a little less room on the left.

    honestly, for those who wish there was a head turn, I completely disagree... A head turn in this type of flight situation would suggest interferance from the photographer... this bird was hunting, and that is exactly what I was hoping to capture...
    Totally agree with your thoughts. Congrats for capturing a sharp flight image.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Raymond Barlow View Post
    honestly, for those who wish there was a head turn, I completely disagree... A head turn in this type of flight situation would suggest interferance from the photographer... this bird was hunting, and that is exactly what I was hoping to capture...
    I too agree 100%. The story about pointing the lens at the bird and pushing the button does not make much sense (unless I am mis-understanding what you wrote) and is--at best--pretty hard to believe.
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  17. #17
    sree.kumar.h
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    Fantastic capture! Considering it's speed of flight this is briliant! The bg colours makes it even more special.

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    Lifetime Member James Salywoda's Avatar
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    Awesome shot Ray!

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    Quote Originally Posted by James Salywoda View Post
    Awesome shot Ray!
    James. Please read the "Important Great Shot Reminder" sticky here: http://birdphotographers.net/forums/...ad.php?t=25608

    Thank you sir, and thanks for your membership support.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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