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Peregrine w/Tanager
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Peregrine w/Tanager

by David Haynes

Gallery: AvianPosted June 24, 2014527 views7 comments
Nikon D4s
600mm no tc
1/3200
F/4.5
ISO 400
Manual exposure
Auto white balance
Metering Pattern
Shot using tripod w/Wimberly head

Here is another peregrine from one of this years many nests in California. This is the female coming back to one of her favorite landing spots after an in air exchange about a 1/4 mile away with the male. At this point the juvis were not yet flying and most meals were brought into the cliff face, plucked of feathers and brought into the nest site. Unfortunately, this western tanager was still alive for a few seconds after landing. It was pretty tough to see such a beautiful bird being plucked alive by one of the worlds best killing machines. I tell myself this is nature but it's hard to watch sometimes. I had limited depth of field on this shot and in retrospect wish I had upped the ISO and stopped down to F/8 or so. Next time. In any case I hope you like this shot as much as I do. This was cropped about 65% but held up fairly well anyway. Please let me know what you think and if I might have missed anything, Thanks

Comments

7 comments
Comment posted by keith mitchell on June 24, 2014 at 4:40 AM
David this needs to be viewed large,it really is excellent.
Still working at My D4 when I get nearly as good as this I will be thrilled to bits.
Regards Keith.
Registered on July 12, 2008, 127 Posts, 1735 Comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on June 24, 2014 at 8:42 AM
Exceptional image, even if tough to see. Exquisite detail and pose.
Fine work!
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments
Comment posted by Keith Bauer on June 24, 2014 at 9:58 AM
Timing just doesn't get much better than this. Nature in all of its' glory. A phenomenal image! :toast: I'd be embarrassed to suggest any changes to this.
Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments
Comment posted by Ray Whitt on June 24, 2014 at 11:22 AM
Appears to be suspended in air, detail is wonderful, really nice work.

Ray
Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments
Comment posted by John Tobias on June 24, 2014 at 12:39 PM
Outstanding image!! Great capture. Thanks for sharing.
Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments
Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on June 24, 2014 at 7:09 PM
Another fabulous image David. The bright colors of the tanager really draws attention to the action (which is perfect). The wing position is nice and I personally think your DOF was fine. It's sharp to the meal and that's the focal point of the image. Great work!
Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments
Comment posted by David Salem on June 25, 2014 at 5:35 PM
Hey Dave, I made it. Great looking shot of this Peregrine with a colorful meal. Your techs are spot on and the detail looks great.
The only wish I would have for this is a bit more eye contact but killer none the less. Nice work.
Registered on June 25, 2014, 6 Posts, 67 Comments