Northern Harrier male

Gallery: AvianPosted July 15, 2010158 views16 comments

Circus cyaneus

This was taken back in February and I had not gotten around to posting it here. I liked the oof phragmites in the background, the soft directional light and the pose.

D200, lens resting on pickup window, f7.1, 1/500, ISO 320, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited. Larber version provided.

As always, I sincerely appreciate your comments & critiques, thanks for looking

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on July 15, 2010 at 6:08 PM

Lovely side lighting and a sweet bg for this beautiful male Mia

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on July 15, 2010 at 7:13 PM

Excellent. The light is soft and lovely, as are the understated natural colors. A very serene image.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Rohn B. McKee on July 15, 2010 at 8:13 PM

I love the lighting also, beautiful sharpness and exposure.

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

Comment posted by Joel DeYoung on July 15, 2010 at 8:20 PM

Excellent composition and details. I really like the softness of the light and the almost muted colors. And check out them eyes! wow, nice and sharp. I also like the oof phragmites. OK truth be told, I needed to look that word up.

Now that I know, I agree makes a really nice background.

Well done.

Registered on July 12, 2009, 92 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on July 15, 2010 at 9:07 PM

Very nice Mia. The muted background shows off the bird beautifully. Great pose and lighting.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on July 15, 2010 at 10:00 PM

Mia,

I have missed your raptor shots. I really like the head turn but with both eyes still clearly visible and the perch fits in well with the color palette

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on July 15, 2010 at 10:15 PM

Love this Mia, you really seem to know what you're doing

I wouldn't change a thing, beautiful work

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Conway on July 15, 2010 at 10:37 PM

Mia, this is beautiful! Love everything about it, it even feels like pale February light. The muted palette is wonderful, and as always the techs and processing are superb. I think the males are so beautiful and this shows him well.

Peter

Registered on June 25, 2007, 347 Posts, 3913 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on July 15, 2010 at 11:18 PM

Beautiful natural soft shadows and stunning job on the white breast. Very attractive image of this Harrier. No nits.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on July 15, 2010 at 11:50 PM

Beautiful soft lighting. Even the bird seems to have muted tones. Just lovely.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on July 16, 2010 at 4:50 AM

Great colors and composition. This is one of the best perched harrier I have seen.

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on July 16, 2010 at 5:04 AM

Love the eye, background and soft lighting Mia. Could the head region do with a slight lift? It almost fades into the background and gives the impression of being soft when it certainly isn't. Does that make sense?

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on July 16, 2010 at 10:42 AM

I love the soft light in this Mia. The eyes really pop....I am not sure I have ever seen a photo of a perched Harrier before on here. Nice work!

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by David Sparks on July 16, 2010 at 11:49 AM

WOW! The one prominent eye immediately grabs my attention and holds it until I begin to notice how well the BG fits the bird, and how the detail/shadow of the perch mirrors the detail/shadow zones of the bird, and the delicate shapes in the white areas of the belly. The smaller version is almost more dramatic than the larger version because the prominent eye effect is more powerful - which suggests that you should hang a large version of this in a location where it can be viewed at a distance and close-up.

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

Comment posted by Neil Rossmiller on July 16, 2010 at 5:29 PM

Hi Mia,
Work to emulate, as usual.