Northern Harrier
Northern Harrier hunting a cranberry bog, Marquette County, Michigan
Northern Harrier hunting a cranberry bog, Marquette County, Michigan
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Mar, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at a nearby cranberry bog. I had noticed the harriers a few years before so I began sitting out there a few hours at a time hoping to get a decent shot. It took about 2 years to finally get lucky.Time
Mid afternoon. I normally would not have been there at that time, but a mostly cloudy day and an unexpected day off work let me be there. If it had been sunny I would have skipped the bog in the afternoon because of the harsh light. My usual times to sit there are morning or a few hours before sundown with the sun behind me.Lighting
It was mostly cloudy with an occasional peek through the clouds by the sun, the sun peeked through at the right time here, lucky, lucky, lucky!Equipment
I was using the canon 40d with canons 400mm 5.6 lens on a tripod.Inspiration
I noticed my first northern harrier a few years before while hiking around this cranberry bog. The more time I spent around the bog the more I would see the harriers, so I decided to stake out the bog. After a few years I was able to capture this harrier maybe 40 yards away as she was hunting just above the grass.Editing
I cropped up and my did my usual sharpening, selective sharpening, dodging and burning, and a little noise reduction/blurring of the background.In my camera bag
My usual backpack has my canon 6d, canons 24-105mm and 400mm lenses. Sometimes I will add the canon 70-200mm for outdoor fall "reaching across the lake" landscapes. Of course a tripod, I have the slik u212.Feedback
I was lucky enough to discover these birds and realized they were hanging out there often. I spent a lot of time just sitting and not getting close enough for anything good or even seeing them. Patience. Sit quietly, keep the sun behind you if possible, use natural camouflage. Even if you don't get the shot, just sitting in the woods you'll discover a lot of great things and learn a few things about nature. I have a large print of this harrier on my kitchen wall, it took a lot of time but it was worth it, love it!
