Cleared for Landing

[Rachel Hollander]

Taken early morning this past weekend on the North Fork of Long Island where the state has erected platforms for the ospreys.

Canon 7D
100-400 @ 330mm
1/5000
f7.1
ISO 800
EC +2/3
HH using car as blind. Levels adjustment and sharpened in CS5.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Nice BIF picture might be stronger if the nest were more visible in the frame. Seems like a high ISO for that fast shutter speed. Overall like the action and nice image of a beautiful bird. Maybe a few seconds earlier would help as well - we take what we get - thanks for sharing.

[nancy hazen]

Nice BIF shot. I have the 100-400 and have a terrible time getting sharp BIF pics. You did a great job with this one.

Nancy

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Jeff and Nancy. Jeff - this was one of the last frames I shot so there was a little more light by then. I shot it in AV and was a little surprised that I got that fast a ss. You're right I could have dropped the ISO a bit. I've got some other shots I'll post in the next few days with more nest visible.

Rachel

[Kerry Perkins]

Rachel, I like your composition and placement of the bird in the frame. You are demonstrating good skills with the BIF capture. Image would be much stronger if the bird were flying toward the camera instead of away. It appears that the sun was above the osprey and to the left and the +2/3 EC was not quite enough. As a result, the entire bird is underexposed, as is the nest. You could have gone +2 easily in this case and didn't really need the high ISO. I would probably be shooting this at ISO 400 and only about 1/1000@f/7.1. I would re-visit the exposure, either in Lightroom or Camera Raw in Photoshop, and try to bring up the mid-tones.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Kerry. Here's a repost after increasing the exp to +2 in ACR. Let me know what you think.

Rachel

[Bob Miller]

Rachel....Like your repost...much better!

[Kerry Perkins]

Rachel, I agree with Bob - much better! Now you can see the nice coloration of the osprey. That boost brought out the eye a bit too.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Bob and Kerry, much appreciated.