Peregrine Falcon in the rain

[Richard Peters]

Hello all :)

I've not been doing much photography recently, in fact I haven't even picked my camera up since I got back from Holland back in Feb!

This is a shot taken there, on the island of Texel, of a Peregrine Falcon in the rain. We were completely lucky to happen upon this difficult to shoot bird of prey, and have it sit still for two drive pasts whilst we got in position!

You can see more shots and read the full experience behind the shot here if you're interested :)

In the meantime...



D3, 600mm + 1.4x, 1/100, f6.3, ISO 280

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Richard You did find a cooperative bird, Checked the link and like the last posted best I think the fence looks "less" in that post !! I like the overall mood and feel of this one !!! Excellent !!!

[Phil Ertel]

Nice view of the back of the bird. The head angle works for me as it appears at least parallel to camera sensor. I also like the rainy mode of the image and the few drops of rain on the birds head.

To my eye the bird appears a little soft. Perhaps some additional sharpening would make the detail stand out more. At a focal length of 840mm you will in most cases need more shutter speed to produce a sharp image. The rule of thumb that I learned was that the shutter speed should be at least the focal length. Thus, in this case you should have been at least 1/800sec or faster. With the D3, I would not be afraid to increase the ISO a fair amount to gain more shutter speed.

If this were mine I would increase the contrast in the background as this darkens the colors and lightens the rain which emphasize the rain.

I made these edits in photoshop and attached to give you an idea of what I am suggesting (I may have gone a little to far with the sharpening). You decide if my suggestions help or not as you were there.

I enjoyed your piece about the this shoot and agree with Alfred in that I like the last image in your link the best. Thanks for sharing.

[Katie Rupp]

Like Alfred, I like the mood and feel of your image and Phil's repost brings out the rain which enhances the mood. Nice catch.

[Richard Peters]

To my eye the bird appears a little soft. Perhaps some additional sharpening would make the detail stand out more. At a focal length of 840mm you will in most cases need more shutter speed to produce a sharp image. The rule of thumb that I learned was that the shutter speed should be at least the focal length. Thus, in this case you should have been at least 1/800sec or faster. With the D3, I would not be afraid to increase the ISO a fair amount to gain more shutter speed.

If this were mine I would increase the contrast in the background as this darkens the colors and lightens the rain which emphasize the rain.

Thanks Phil. I know the rule of thumb for shutter speed v focal length very well. However sometimes you have to try and be a little more creative, and to achieve long streaks of rain a slow shutter speed is required. As you will have seen in my linked article, I did indeed do some higher speed shots as well to freeze the rain - the final image in that article is at ISO 3200 to get the shutter speed up. By the way, I think the final image is my favourite as well :)

I like the background in your repost (bit too much sharpening for my taste though). I did try to darken it a little myself but I just couldn't get it to look right - I'll revisit though now :)

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Really a very striking image. Love the pose and the deliberate eye contact and the falling rain is a lovely bonus. Killer BG as well.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Peter, personally I feel that the image is somewhere between the two. Really helpful I know, sorry. Setting & position is spot on for me.

BTW do you ever bump into Edwin K or Jereon S whilst out in Texel? :):)

TFS
Steve

[Richard Peters]

Re-processed :)



Thanks for the comments all. Steve, never had the pleasure no :(

[Steve Kaluski]

Yes, I saw it was with Rene De Heer.

Thanks
Steve