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Graham Whitehead | all galleries >> Galleries >> Photo a Day > Stooping Falcon
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15-APR-2007

Stooping Falcon

I must rename this gallery 'Photo every now and again' as I have been neglecting my PBasing in recent months. I have quite a lot of new stuff to sift and upload into regular galleries, so I may get round to becoming more regular in here while I do that.

This shot is of a falcon during it's 'stoop', the final dive onto the prey, during which they hit a very high speed (well over 100 mph). I got a few shots of this bird and I wasn't really holding out much hope for usable images (small, fast moving target etc) so I was very pleased with getting several of them reasonably sharp. This shot, and the one below, are part of a sequence of reasonable results taken at 3fps. There was one shot in between so these are about 2/3 of a second apart. The shot below is the first one, taken well above the trees and diving steeply, the main image is the later one and the bird is now leveling out and at a much lower height.

I know these aren't the greatest pictures I have ever taken, but I like them because of the 'degree of difficulty' factor.

I always appreciate feedback as to people's opinions on my work, so please leave a quick comment (good or bad, they all help) if you can spare a moment. Thanks.


Click on the thumbnail to view the first shot:


Canon EOS 5D ,Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
1/800s f/8.0 at 330.0mm iso400 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time15-Apr-2007 13:32:01
MakeCanon
ModelCanon EOS 5D
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length330 mm
Exposure Time1/800 sec
Aperturef/8
ISO Equivalent400
Exposure Bias
White Balance
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Programaperture priority (3)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Ian Clowes13-May-2007 21:16
I've been trying for sometime to get this sort of shot - well done, it's difficult!!!!
lou_rozensteins13-May-2007 10:15
A beautiful shot. It must have been moving so fast .... voted.
Tim Vidrine13-May-2007 01:24
Great capture.
Jeff Barbour13-May-2007 01:10
Fabulous capture..V
Guest 13-May-2007 00:52
Superb!
Guest 12-May-2007 22:13
Great job
Bill Paige12-May-2007 21:48
Awesome capture
Guest 12-May-2007 21:15
Great panning...V.
Guest 12-May-2007 20:59
Wow, great ACTION shot!