This is the first of two shots of this falconer and his falcon taken at the Bab Al Shams resort, near to Dubai. We headed up there to shoot the falcons, one of Bobbi's passions, and while they're not a subject I'd normally choose to photograph, it was fun. I didn't get any decent shots of the birds in flight – apparently they can fly close to the speed of sound – but I did get this shot and one other that I'm pleased with.
In terms of my aims for the shot: I underexposed by two stops to create the silhouette and used an aperture of f/16 to create the star-burst effect.
The post-production was also relatively straightforward: I shifted the white balance in Camera Raw to warm up the image, added a couple of curves to increase the contrast, and then decided that I needed a bit more space above the top of his head (and for once Content Aware Fill actually worked).
I also used the head of the bird from a different shot. I'd been shooting this guy for at least an hour before this one and liked the fact that both the falconer and falcon were looking towards the setting sun. When I showed it to Bobbi though her immediate reaction was "it's a shame the bird isn't in profile". And I could see her point: the shot worked for me, because I'd been there, and watched them both for ages, but didn't work anywhere near as well for the viewer. So, ten minutes later, after a bit of fiddling around with the Warp Tool to get the proportions right, the bird had a new head.
captured camera lens focal length aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO flash image quality RAW converter image editor plugins (etc) cropped?
comment byDan Kaufman at 07:34 PM (GMT) on 25 March, 2011
Masterful composition.
On a technical post-process note: how would you extend the sky without CS5 C.A.F., that is with CS4 and the regular cloning tools?
comment bydjn1 at 08:22 PM (GMT) on 25 March, 2011
Thanks Dan. In terms of using CS4 or earlier: it wouldn't be too hard with this image - the sky isn't especially complicated - but it would take a bit longer. You'd need to extend the canvas then use the Clone Tool to blend in sky. Providing you did it reasonably carefully it shouldn't be obvious.
comment byIan Mylam at 10:26 PM (GMT) on 25 March, 2011
Marvellous, inspirational photography, David. Thanks for sharing the post-processing steps.
comment byChristopher at 11:03 PM (GMT) on 25 March, 2011
Stunning shot--wonderfully done!
comment bySimon at 11:50 PM (GMT) on 25 March, 2011
I think someone is pulling your leg David. A Peregrine max's out at just over 200mph when stooping while the speed of sound is about 760mph depending upon your altitude. That's got absolutely nothing to do with it being a beautiful image though...........
comment byCarlos Garcia at 01:51 AM (GMT) on 26 March, 2011
Love the toning. Great results Dave.
comment bydjn1 at 09:20 AM (GMT) on 28 March, 2011
Thanks everyone.
Simon: yep, I did think it sounded a bit implausible.
comment byJason at 01:09 PM (GMT) on 30 March, 2011
Fantastic atmosphere and a classic timeless composition. No offence but this would make a cool postcard :)
comment bypayam mohammadi at 06:46 AM (GMT) on 4 April, 2011
very nice composition & color!
comment byChris at 11:13 PM (GMT) on 5 April, 2011
Great choice of color for this scene. I have to agree, the image improves a lot by changing the birds head position. It is interesting how certain features can change the way we view things without even realizing it.
This is the first of two shots of this falconer and his falcon taken at the Bab Al Shams resort, near to Dubai. We headed up there to shoot the falcons, one of Bobbi's passions, and while they're not a subject I'd normally choose to photograph, it was fun. I didn't get any decent shots of the birds in flight – apparently they can fly close to the speed of sound – but I did get this shot and one other that I'm pleased with.
In terms of my aims for the shot: I underexposed by two stops to create the silhouette and used an aperture of f/16 to create the star-burst effect.
The post-production was also relatively straightforward: I shifted the white balance in Camera Raw to warm up the image, added a couple of curves to increase the contrast, and then decided that I needed a bit more space above the top of his head (and for once Content Aware Fill actually worked).
I also used the head of the bird from a different shot. I'd been shooting this guy for at least an hour before this one and liked the fact that both the falconer and falcon were looking towards the setting sun. When I showed it to Bobbi though her immediate reaction was "it's a shame the bird isn't in profile". And I could see her point: the shot worked for me, because I'd been there, and watched them both for ages, but didn't work anywhere near as well for the viewer. So, ten minutes later, after a bit of fiddling around with the Warp Tool to get the proportions right, the bird had a new head.
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
image editor
plugins (etc)
cropped?
Canon 5D Mark II
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
57mm
f/16
1/2000
aperture priority
-2
evaluative
100
no
RAW
Camera Raw
Photoshop CS5
none
minor recomposition
Masterful composition.
On a technical post-process note: how would you extend the sky without CS5 C.A.F., that is with CS4 and the regular cloning tools?
Thanks Dan. In terms of using CS4 or earlier: it wouldn't be too hard with this image - the sky isn't especially complicated - but it would take a bit longer. You'd need to extend the canvas then use the Clone Tool to blend in sky. Providing you did it reasonably carefully it shouldn't be obvious.
Marvellous, inspirational photography, David. Thanks for sharing the post-processing steps.
Stunning shot--wonderfully done!
I think someone is pulling your leg David. A Peregrine max's out at just over 200mph when stooping while the speed of sound is about 760mph depending upon your altitude. That's got absolutely nothing to do with it being a beautiful image though...........
Love the toning. Great results Dave.
Thanks everyone.
Simon: yep, I did think it sounded a bit implausible.
Fantastic atmosphere and a classic timeless composition. No offence but this would make a cool postcard :)
very nice composition & color!
Great choice of color for this scene. I have to agree, the image improves a lot by changing the birds head position. It is interesting how certain features can change the way we view things without even realizing it.