Jackal Buzzard
The Jackal Buzzards at Giant's Castle give little warning when they are going to land. They just zoom in and suddenly there they are. So it is quite a challenge to spot them in time to get a flight/landing photo.
I was quite pleased with this result - though in the full frame shot the birds is way too much to the right.
Technical Details:
Canon EOS 7D ; 400mm F4 DO + 1.4x ; 1/1600th ; F7 ; ISO 400 ; Benbo Tripod + Mongoose gimbal head
It is certainly tight in the frame. I'm not one for adding canvas, but this guy needs some space to land. Also, the eye needs to be lightened, and the whites on the top of the wing are a bit distracting. Also, it may need some sharpening.
Great background! Good wing position and "concentration" look. Those claws look razor sharp!
Phil,
I agree with Colin's points, wish for more light on the eye and IMO too tight. Thank you for showing the species, it is beautiful must have been fun to see him in flight - TFS.
Colin pretty much sums it up well.
I too agree with Colin's critique (except that I don't find the whites on the wing distracting). Some of those whites are, however, clipped (not by much) and some toning down some would be good. Those distant mountains sure give you guys nice backgrounds to work with!
Phil, great landing posture, and love the feather detail from the underwing. As mentioned, some additional sharpening will work. Still, well captured.
Love the intense landing pose and concentration, best landing moment. I think this will work better in a vert.
Too bad it is soft and lacks detail.
TFS
New! Sony Capture One Pro Guide 2022
https://arihazeghiphotography.com/Gu.../Sony_C1P.html
------------------------------------------------
Visit my blog
http://www.arihazeghiphotography.com/blog
Great posture captured. Agree it needs a bit more space in front. Still well done!
nice pose Phil - I still need to visit Giant's Castle. I might sharpen the bird a bit more and boost contrast to increase the "pop" factor. you picked up some sharpening halos around the primaries which is easy to fix though
Thanks for all the comments everyone. Much appreciated. I have reworked the picture - adding in some extra canvas, lightening the eye and a little darkening on the white (but not much - they are really white in life so I did not want to make them too unrealistic) plus some sharpening. I think the resulting image is an improvement. So thanks for that.
Arash : Sorry - but the image is not soft and lacking in detail. Quite the opposite. The photo is pin sharp (or tack sharp as you guys in the States say) and has excellent detail. The focus is nicely on the head - so the right leg is out of the depth of focus, but all the main features are sharp. Any apparent lack of sharpness you see will just be due to the way I have produced the JPEG for loading on BPN. But the original TIFF is fine.
Morkel : You must certainly visit G.Castle. It is brilliant. Quite difficult (challenging !) and very variable in terms of which birds will show up and perform and how often. I think windy days can be best - but others may have had a different experience. A place that needs revisiting to get the best out of it. So the sooner you start the better !
thanks Phil I will have to make a plan! the repost does look better, but the sharpening halos are still apparent.
for the sake of others or visitors who might view this thread, sharpening halos refers to the pixelation occuring around specifically the primary feathers but also all around the bird. it is a phenomenon apparent in resizing and sharpening pictures for web posting.
the best way to work without developing these is to select your bird with the magic wand (should be easy here due to the uniform BG) or the lasso tool. make sure you've got the bird and only the bird selected, then feather the selection by about 2-3 pixels, then contract by about 2 pixels. this should place your selection nicely within the bird/subject alone without crossing the outlines. now apply sharpening to enhance detail in the web version.
:)
Love the pose here , more space around is definitely looking better . The bird can take more sharpening IMO :)
Posting Permissions
Phil Perry Wildlife Photography
Reply With Quote
