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Falcon Flight
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Falcon Flight

by Larry Johnston

Gallery: AvianPosted February 17, 2010107 views5 comments
Nikon D3 - Nikkor 80-400 mm @ 400 - f 5.6 - Handheld - light overcast - mid day
Looking eye-to-eye with a falcon soaring high over the Lower Klamath Reserve near the California/Oregon border. We humans need an extreme telephoto lens to get a close look at him but be sure that this bird is has no problem keeping an eye on us. These sharp eyed birds-of-prey ride the air currents for long periods of time as they survey the ground below for their next meal.

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by dan elster on February 17, 2010 at 12:06 PM
Cool shot, although I'm pretty sure this is a redtail hawk, not a falcon. I might be tempted to sharpen this image a bit more. Lower Klamath NWR is one of my very favorite places to shoot. :toast:
Registered on September 23, 2005, 299 Posts, 2443 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Ditch on February 17, 2010 at 3:15 PM
I agree with Dan's ID of Red-tailed Hawk: a buteo and not a falcon. Also, as Dan implies, it isn't as sharp as it could be. Without your shooting data (ISO, shutter speed) and more info on you processing (how much of the frame are you showing here) it is difficult to suggest what might be causing the lack of sharpness in the posted image.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments
Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on February 17, 2010 at 7:40 PM
Great eye contact.Looks a tad on the eye though. Love the wing stretch
Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments
Comment posted by Nate Chappell on February 17, 2010 at 9:22 PM
I agree Red-tailed Hawk, juvenile. I like the eye contact here too. :toast:
Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments
Comment posted by Larry Johnston on February 18, 2010 at 10:15 AM
Thanks all ~ I will differ to your expertise as to the type of bird. When I first took the photo I asked a birdwatcher at the site and she told me it was a flacon so I took her word for it. I will have to do better research in future postings. As for sharpness, The 16X20 Print looks much better than this posting. I seems that if aAI increase sharpness the image starts to ghost at edges. The photo was taken at 1/1000 sec ISO 200 and was a good distance off this is about 70% of the full frame.
Registered on February 7, 2010, 5 Posts, 8 Comments