Saker Falcon portrait (captive)

Posted by Rob Palmer on Mon Oct 13, 2003 11:14 am

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Young male Saker Falcon. The Saker falcon is a resident falcon from the middle east. I would appreciate any comments or critiques on how to optimize these portraits since I have good opportunities to capture images like this one.

Canon 1D, 300 F4, ISO 200, -1 1/3 with flash @-1 2/3, 1/800 sec, F 6.3

Rob Palmer
[url]http://www.falconphotos.com/gallery/7385039_qUuth#!i=774854059&k=Uuoef[/url]

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by E.J. Peiker on Mon Oct 13, 2003 11:53 am

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A gorgeous bird and a nice portrait.

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by Bill Whala on Mon Oct 13, 2003 11:55 am

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Technically this looks very nice. The dynamic range of the digital media was used to its fullest. I'm seeing detail in the highlighted as well as the shadow areas.

My only nit (personal prefence) is with the crop. The square crop, in this case, seems a little confining. I would like to see this one as a vertical. I don't know if that was possible from the original.

Excellent shot as presented too.

Bill Whala

"Aves of similar plumage tend to converge with one another"

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by Alan Murphy on Mon Oct 13, 2003 12:20 pm

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Rob, Great detail and exposure. My only nit is the black BG. I would try for a lighter one.

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by Matt Cox on Mon Oct 13, 2003 2:18 pm

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Rob -- I like the composition and black background, and think you did a great job with the fill flash and exposure. One nit I have is that the catch light looks unnaturally small -- if this is due to using a fresnel magnifier on the flash, you might want to try leaving it off when you're this close to get less of a pinpoint.

Matt Cox

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by LHays on Mon Oct 13, 2003 3:11 pm

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I actually like the black backgrounds and think it's fine here. I would like to see perhaps a vertical crop as mentioned by Bill. A wonderful image full of detail which I'm sure wasn't easy to get. With other opportunities, you might try different angles and poses. Check previous portrait posts to get some ideas and try some of your own.

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by Campbell on Tue Oct 14, 2003 12:37 am

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WOW, very nice.

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by AlexC on Tue Oct 14, 2003 6:31 pm

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The Black BG works for me here, magnificent bird and a nice pose, experimenting with a reflector could add a more natural feel to his shady side!!, But nice as is!!! Congrats!!!

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by Anthony Medici on Wed Oct 15, 2003 4:52 pm

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A wee bit more DOF might have been nice but this is still very good.

Tony

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by Greg Downing on Wed Oct 15, 2003 7:08 pm

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I agree a bit more DOF would be nice. I don;t mind the black background here but would also want some images with lighter backgrounds if that were possible. I like the overthe shoulder look and think the more you shoot the more creatice you can get with the compositions.

Greg Downing
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