Northern Harrier

Gallery: AvianPosted December 5, 2009184 views17 comments

I have had a bit of a break in the op tempo at work. This has enabled me to actually get to take some of the vacation time that I have accumulated! So, with all of the amazing Northern Harrier images that have been posted lately, I took some vacation, and made it my next mission to go and get at least one decent Northern Harrier picture. Now, mind you, I have been trying to get one decent Northern Harrier picture for about four years now! For as slow as they move, it sure is hard to get a good one! I wasn't going to use this, until I saw that most other Harrier photos were a substantial crop as well. Oh, by the way, this is the result of two days of waiting out cloud cover, rain, frost, ice, and a couple of snow flurries! It was painful, as in possible frostbite, but I think it is a good starting point.

Olympus e3
Olympus ZD 300 2.8 w/2x
ISO 500
f5.7
1/800th
50% of FF
Bogen 0550 Pro w/4231 head (pan and tilt)

I processed this one differently. I used the RAW converter from PS, then did all of the sharpening and noise reduction with Neat Image. It seems to work well.

Comments and critiques welcome. Thanks.

Comments

17 comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on December 5, 2009 at 11:08 PM

Looks very good to me Mike, great eye contact, lighting, similar colors, I know you've been wanting to get a nice one, so big congrats!

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on December 6, 2009 at 2:05 AM

Lovely light and bg here Mike. The eyes on you is a huge bonus.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Carrie O'Brien-Sib on December 6, 2009 at 8:03 AM

Fantastic action shot, Mike! As always, GREAT work!

Registered on August 4, 2009, 149 Posts, 889 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Donato on December 6, 2009 at 8:11 AM

Mike I like how the bg colors make a very nice color scheme with the bird. Your post processing was very good with nice details. The angle of the wing in the fg is unfortunate but still a fine image as posted. Congrats!

Registered on January 27, 2009, 29 Posts, 247 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on December 6, 2009 at 8:13 AM

Hey Mike, congrats--you got a good looking shot. The eye contact is really nice, as is the light.

I think Ron D has the perfect strategy, shooting from his truck--not only does he have a mobile blind, he's got HEAT! Throw some of those little hand/foot warmer heat packs in your bag next time you go out.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on December 6, 2009 at 8:52 AM

This is beautiful. I love the eye contact and the pleasing complimentary colors of the bird and background. No photo is worth real frostbite. Missing fingers would make it hard to hold the camera. Take Brian's advice about handwarmers.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on December 6, 2009 at 9:10 AM

Mike,

The background sets the harrier off perfectly and I love the look the bird appears to be giving you.

Ron and I tried the handwarmers for the first time on Friday, they do make an amazing difference, I could actually feel my fingers when we left the refuge! Even though we shoot from inside a pickup, you don't have the engine running when there are birds present, thus no forced heat. Your left hand gets colder because it is outside of the window most often to support the lens. My right hand stays just a smidge warmer because generally that hand is inside the pickup. When standing outside with a tripod in the future, I'll slip a handwarmer in both gloves, one of which I have modified so my thumb & forefinger are exposed just enough to use the dials and shutter button.

I like the wing position a lot, though I know some people might not because I see the birds often in flight just like this. You did very well handling the exposure too.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel & Loana on December 6, 2009 at 9:34 AM

Great action shot. Details and eye contact are perfect!

D&L

Registered on October 7, 2008, 166 Posts, 3044 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on December 6, 2009 at 9:55 AM

Beautiful background for the species and excellent head turn Mike. I can only imagine how many images you have like this but with the bird looking down and no light in the eye. I like the graded light on the right wing and those pesky rump whites look good.

Those little heat packs are wonderful when you need them and we won't be without them during wintertime shooting again. They're cheap and they stay warm all day.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Rohn B. McKee on December 6, 2009 at 12:50 PM

Great shot Mike, I have been struggling to capture this species in my area. They are so shy here in Idaho.

Registered on November 18, 2008, 109 Posts, 415 Comments

Comment posted by David Sparks on December 6, 2009 at 1:18 PM

Big congrats on getting this shot Mike. Nice light on the bird and that dark BG really make the bird pop. The head turn, eye contact, variation in light on the wing, and good job with the white in the tail region have already been mentioned.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on December 6, 2009 at 6:05 PM

Late to this one Mike, but I do like it a lot, especially the BG and the nice eye contact and catchlight. Well done.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on December 6, 2009 at 6:21 PM

Excellent, Mike. The detail is fine even with the crop and the light is beautiful. Great eye contact.