Peregrin Falcon
Jan, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at River Cottage HQ in Dorset, UK. They had an open day where stall holders came to sell things like cheese and jam. They also had a bird handler who brought a few large birds of prey. One of them was this Peregrin Falcon.Time
I like this picture because I think it's a good example of how you can use simple editing techniques to change the feel of a picture. It was actually shot in a field at about 2pm against a blue background.Lighting
I love how the bright light on the subject meant when I pulled the 'light' control down on Photos the blue backdrop quickly went black whilst keeping the subject well-lit. It's a technique I've tried to employ once or twice since but it's never worked as well as it did here.Equipment
This was taken on my Canon 1100d with my 70-200mm f4L lens. I hadn't had it long and was desperate to try it out. I didn't use a tripod or flash, just handheld with natural light.Inspiration
I had recently bought a new lens (the Canon 70-200 f4L) and was testing it out. I can't remember ever being so close to large birds of prey before so I must have taken hundreds of photos. I loved the profile image that came from this shot.Editing
I used Photos on the Mac to pull the light down just a little and it gave it this smooth black backdrop. I love the negative space and how it draws the eye to the bird. I cropped the picture to be tight around the head of the bird, emphasising the eye, and the food it was eating.In my camera bag
So, in the past 12 months I've been trying to build up a fairly fool-proof collection for an amateur enthusiast. My go to set up is the Canon 70d with the Canon 24-70mm 2.8L. I bought that lens about 3 or 4 months ago and have hardly touched any other since. I also have my Canon 70-200mm f4L, which I used for this shot. That lens is amazing. It was the first 'L' I bought and opened my eyes to the power of high quality glass. I also have a Tokina 11-16 2.8 which is the badger's nadgers for wide-angle lenses not costing £4,000,000. Lastly on the lens front I have a Canon 50mm 1.8 prime, which I use less these days but keep it in the bag in case. I also pack an external flash, which is my most recent camera-related purchase. I'm still getting to know it but it's been great at a few weddings I've been to in the summer. Finally, I have an ND filter and a sturdy tripod for those fancy water shots.Feedback
Lots of light and a dark background, then just have a play with whatever post-processing software you use. I really admire photographers who can get an amazing shot with no post-processing. However, I'm definitely not one of them (yet) and I use my post-processing software to enhance nearly everything I take. Good luck and have fun.
