mariegradypalcic

falcon pedicure

NIKON D7000

settings

Aperture 63/10 ISO 200 Shutter 10/5000 Focal Length 2400/10

upload_date

Jul, 2016

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Behind The Lens

Location

I'm lucky enough to live on Cape Cod and I took this on Skaket Beach in Orleans Massachusetts.

Time

I was out at dawn, hoping to spot a snowy owl that had been sighted somewhere along the Cape Cod bay beaches. After a lot of driving around, I stopped at this beach parking lot in hopes of checking ebird.com on my cell phone. When I pulled in, I looked around for the owl but instead found this beautiful falcon sitting on a pole. He didn't seem to mind an audience at all as he cleaned his toenails :)

Lighting

It was a cloudy day, no directional sunshine, which made the details easier to capture. I love sunrises as much as anyone, but have gotten some of my favorite shots on cloudy days.

Equipment

I used a Nikon D7000 with a 70-300mm lens for this shot. I carry a tripod in my car but very rarely use it. I depend on the window frame of my car for stabilization - I turn the car off, open the window halfway, position the camera where the window and frame stabilize it, then shoot. It's much quicker than getting my tripod out.

Inspiration

I was captivated by this bird's markings and my goal was to expose the image so I captured them. He looked at me a few times but dismissed me as either unimportant or not edible. Since I wasn't bothering him, I kept getting closer. I got lucky when he decided it was time for some grooming.

Editing

I corrected the white balance in post-processing, did a little sharpening in photoshop elements and cropped to reposition the falcon in the image.

In my camera bag

I always carry two cameras - my Nikon D7000 with the 70-300mm lens and D90 with the kit lens that came with it - an 18-105mm. I alternate between the two cameras, using whichever suits the situation best. I also carry a Nikon 85mm and 40mm macro with me.

Feedback

The best advice I can offer is to be ready. Having my camera bag with me at all times drives my husband absolutely nuts but you just never know when a peregrine falcon is going to be sitting on a telephone pole. I also recommend shooting on cloudy or rainy days. One of my favorite memories is spending an hour with a bald eagle during a soaking rain. If I hadn't been scouting, with my camera bag ready, I'd have missed a special moment.

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mariegradypalcic

mariegradypalcic

falcon pedicure

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow mariegradypalcic

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