I waited and waited and waited for this Peregrine to take flight, but it was just comfortable hanging on that bird box for a while. Those of us there hoped that it would hunt, but our best guess was that it already had and was now comfortably digesting its catch.
It did stretch and move a bit for us and so I was able to capture this pose with its gaze in our direction, but it would have been great to get it in flight, or at the very least launching from it’s perch.
Specific Feedback Requested
What’s the longest you have ever waited for a bird to take flight?
Technical Details
840 mm (600 w/ 1/4 extender)
1/2000 sec
f/5.6
ISO 640
Drop the exposure by a third and this should take care of the bright patch on the LH side of the peregrine. The image has some halos from sharpening and the image should be crisper. You can try to add some microcontrast to perk up the feather detail. Was noise suppression done? There are some areas on the back of the peregrine that appear quite waxy. Otherwise, well worth photographing this feathered rocket…Jim
Jim, this is the critique I need! Thank you. Yes, I used AI DeNoise - the waxy bit is a good description. I. assume that is the result of the noise reduction. Microcontrast? By that do you mean local contrast adjustments on the feathers?
I like the pose here a lot Tony, plus nice details on the bird and beautiful bokeh. Taking flight? I’m good for about 15", the I know he’ll take off as soon as I leave, lol.
