Stanley, The Laner Falcon

A very nicely composed result with beautiful lighting and details, Len!

It's always nice to get your take on my latest offerings.  Thanks for taking the time to voice your views.  Best, LM.

Hi Len, Quite a beautiful falcon, tack sharp giving us lots of detail (larger view). Just curious about the crop? Fine image regardless.

Best Regards,

Holger

Thanks for your most welcome visit.  The crop was a compromise to display the full outstretch of the wings while concealing the fact that this is not a bird in the wild.  He was in fact tethered at a 'Birds of Prey' lecture at the Wye Marsh. Tame perhaps, but well cared for.  Best, Len.

Stanley is a handsome guy and you have fine detail here.  Whether wild or captive, birds of prey have a striking intensity... Mike

One of my favourite-of-all-time photos was likely an animal in captivity so I don't feel any guilt that Stanley was also a tame (ish) captive. They are beautiful under almost any circumstance.  The trick is to be able to capture & then display that beauty.  The 'look' birds-of-prey give ( "Oh, he's looking at me, I KNOW he's looking at me"!)  would strike terror into the heart of any rodent. :-) Thanks for helping to make my day.  See you soon.  Best, Len.

As others have said, a wonderful capture. A minor issue for me is the proximity of the wings to the edges of the image. You might not be able to do anything about it but providing more space to the wings would add to the feeling of this being a crafted image as opposed to a quick snap shot. I know you stated you were confined by the tether and I realize the efforts to capture an interesting pose - still a well done image.

Regards

Thanks for weighing in on this offering.  Your categorizing of this one as a 'quick snapshot' is closer to the mark than you realize but I agree that it's no excuse for a less than perfect presentation.  One of my failings perhaps is my rush to post.  Gotta work on that. When critiquing other's work I'll often point out the undesirable tension created by having major elements too close to the edge of the frame.  "Physician heal thyself'"  :-) Your own portfolio, I've admittedly all too quickly cruised through, appears to be worthy of future visits which may convince me to be a bit more methodical in my approach.  Looking forward to them.  Best, Len.