BROWN FALCON, WHITE SKIES

[Paul Randall]

Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) in a clumsy hover.

If you've ever seen a Brown Falcon try and hover like its Kestrels cousins then you'll know what I mean by "Clumsy Hover".
Wings heaving....legs akimbo...tail jerking...
Pretty laughable but they try really hard
Lucky for the bit of "over the wing" eye contact or this shot would have been deleted but is it enough eye contact? Furthermore, is the shabby state of the tail an image wrecker?
Interesting to note the one new feather on the tail among the other worn feathers.

All comments, reposts, critiques welcome :cool: Paul

Canon 5D 600mm f4 L (non IS) iso 400 1/3200th f5.6 CW metering +1 stop, handheld/rested on roof of car
Photoshop-slight s/h adjustment, sharpen of face and back

[Stu Bowie]

Good show of the fanned tail Paul, and I like the extended right wing too. Overall nice and sharp with good detail.

[James Salywoda]

It works for me as you got a good view of this Raptor in a great hunting pose.

[Arthur Morris]

Plenty enough eye for me, and yes, the one new rectrice is neat. All of the primaries and secondaries look new. Excellent and interesting image.

[Doug Brown]

Great detail, and enough eye contact to salvage a 'butt shot.' :D

[Per-Gunnar Ostby]

I think it's a great shot, and the ragged back feathers only add to it

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Wow! and with a 5D! some people believe, me included that this is a slow camera for this kind of action, but I see how wrong I am! Lovely raptor and love the fanned tail. Great capture.

[Chantelle Voss]

Great work Paul. This photograph is a great study of the falcon's tail, primary, and secondary feathers. All around a very interesting moment to capture, thanks for sharing!

[Paul Randall]

Thanks for the comments everyone:D

Wow! and with a 5D! some people believe, me included that this is a slow camera for this kind of action, but I see how wrong I am!

Its definitely a slow camera in terms of frame rate but I have found the AF to be pretty speedy (though I have'nt really field tested too many other models). Also, the slow frame rate has actually taught me to depress the shutter button at the optimum time instead of machine gunning away with a burst of frames. A good thing to possess I believe.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Beautiful pose, the HA adds to the story of the frame, good details and pose....

[Daniel Cadieux]

Actually I love those scraggly tail feathers framing the brand-spanking new one. Very cool. It would have been tough to get a better HA without compromising the great view of those feathers. I like it!

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Also, the slow frame rate has actually taught me to depress the shutter button at the optimum time instead of machine gunning away with a burst of frames. A good thing to possess I believe.

Yes, I have also learned to appreciate more the slow frame rate of my 5D and 30D. Shutters are extremely expensive in CR to replace so I better learn to use the camera. :o