p.1 #1 · Landing and take-off of male peregrine falcon
As some of you may have known, I was photographing peregrine falcons between mid-March and mid-July. During the first half of that period I started noticing that even at 1/2000sec I couldn’t freeze the falcon movement 100% when they are in flight, especially during landing and take-off. Plus, depending on the distance, the depth-of-field was not always enough using my 600mm. Most of the time, the lighting conditions were simply not enough for me to get a higher shutter speed and/or a tad smaller aperture.
Starting in June or so, the lighting intensity increased and it became fine without being too harsh by mid-morning. So, when the conditions were acceptable, I decided to get super clear images. The landing and take-off sequences posted here were captured on 2 different mornings, again when the shooting circumstances were met what I was looking for without resorting to extremely high ISO settings.
Thank you for visiting and please feel free to leave any feedback,
Joshua
p.1 #3 · Landing and take-off of male peregrine falcon
Awesome, awesome awesome!! Being where you needed to be for the best light is great work! Am assuming you were shooting handheld for this set. These images demonstrate what good equipment can produce in capable hands, love the crisp, tac-sharp images and your white balance also.
My only critique would be on 10-15, that maybe the white is blown out a little and may could be addressed selectively in edit. Great images, loved them all.
p.1 #4 · Landing and take-off of male peregrine falcon
rand1951 wrote:
Awesome, awesome awesome!! Being where you needed to be for the best light is great work! Am assuming you were shooting handheld for this set. These images demonstrate what good equipment can produce in capable hands, love the crisp, tac-sharp images and your white balance also.
My only critique would be on 10-15, that maybe the white is blown out a little and may could be addressed selectively in edit. Great images, loved them all.
rand
Thank you very much, rand!
Even if handheld, a shoulder stock is always used to help this old guy being able to handle the setup. For the landing sequence though, I used my tripod and gimbal head. I saw the falcon took off way to the left and momentarily disappeared behind the cliff. I anticipated the falcon to appear shortly after and flew towards the perch from lower left. The first frame I got was of him with the tail and feet cutoff. What I posted there is the second frame.
I entirely agree with you about the blown out chest feather. The flight path, which was of course, away from the cliff, received more direct sunlight than the perching position. I tried to tone it down but it looked not “artificial”, more grayish rather than showing more details. So, I left those area alone... Oh, well .
p.1 #5 · Landing and take-off of male peregrine falcon
Great set Joshua. I love the landing sequence!! You really froze that motion while capturing the intensity and concentration . Also love the preys feathers in those talons.
On the take off sequence , I feel like I can hear those wings gathering the wind for lift . I love the head turn in no 7.
p.1 #6 · Landing and take-off of male peregrine falcon
birdied wrote:
Great set Joshua. I love the landing sequence!! You really froze that motion while capturing the intensity and concentration . Also love the preys feathers in those talons.
On the take off sequence , I feel like I can hear those wings gathering the wind for lift . I love the head turn in no 7.
Birdie
Thank you very much, Birdie! The prey’s feathers are like trophies, huh?
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