Nature Photographers Network
This is the preserved archive of the original Nature Photographers Network. The community continues at naturephotographers.network.
Cooper's Hawk
‹ PreviousAvian GalleryNext ›

Cooper's Hawk

by Douglas Graham

Gallery: AvianPosted December 29, 2010253 views13 comments
Cooper's Hawk :: Accipiter cooperii

A male juvenile cooper's hawk after killing a white-throated sparrow.

Model: NIKON D3
Firmware: Adobe Photoshop CS4 Macintosh
Lens (mm): 500
ISO: 400
Aperture: 4
Shutter: 1/400
Exp. Comp.: -0.7
Program: Manual

Comments

13 comments
Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on December 29, 2010 at 6:04 PM
Doug, a really cool shot for sure with two awesome species. The heads of the two birds are really sharp. I do long for more DOF to get more of the front part of the birds sharp. It seems with the D3 you could have cranked up the ISO to say 1600 and then got your ap up to say f/8 and still kept your SS. Just a suggestion. A great shot I wish I had in my files.
Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments
Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on December 29, 2010 at 7:06 PM
wow--very cool shot, Douglas. very sharp where it needs to be. I think the head positions of the two birds complement each other well.
Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Ditch on December 29, 2010 at 7:22 PM
A powerful image. Very nice sharpness in the larger version. A bit tight on the composition - is this full frame or cropped?
Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments
Comment posted by Douglas Graham on December 29, 2010 at 7:31 PM
Yes its full frame and I too wish for more DOF but it happened so fast and I was lucky to get the two frames I got before he booked. I was getting set up for owls in a blind when he just popped in with a kill. It was really windy which made him really jumpy. Anyway just glad to have gotten the two frames I got :jump:
Registered on May 14, 2009, 123 Posts, 522 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Olsen on December 29, 2010 at 7:44 PM
Awsome photo showing how cruel nature is!
Well captured!
Registered on October 19, 2006, 306 Posts, 1571 Comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on December 29, 2010 at 11:27 PM
Great capture! The angles of the heads compliment and echo each other well.
I'd wish for a bit more room all around..
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments
Comment posted by Angela McCain on December 29, 2010 at 11:33 PM
I like this image. Little bit of yellow on the hawk's beak and on the bird are also a nice complement to each other.
Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments
Comment posted by Carol Hyman on December 30, 2010 at 10:12 AM
Great timing to catch this hawk, Douglas. I f you did any cropping I would like to see this image with a little more room under the bird.

I do have a question. What in the world is Adobe Photoshop CS4 firmware? Is this an update for the camera???

Thanks.

Well done.

Carol
Registered on January 18, 2007, 597 Posts, 8062 Comments
Comment posted by Peter Conway on December 30, 2010 at 3:27 PM
Douglas, This is really cool. The limp lifeless sparrow makes this really work.

I would be tempted to add canvas above and and in front of the hawk and then clone over the vertical tree with the brown BG as I extended it on to the new canvas to give more room. I think it would really make a difference.

Would love to have this one in my files! :toast:

Peter
Registered on June 25, 2007, 347 Posts, 3913 Comments
Comment posted by Geoffrey Baker on December 30, 2010 at 4:07 PM
A great capture, your quick reactions got you the shot :smile:
Well done.

Geoff.
Registered on August 20, 2010, 192 Posts, 980 Comments
Comment posted by Lindy Martin on January 1, 2011 at 8:31 PM
Great shot, would love to even see this in the wild. The detail is amazing! :toast:
Registered on March 10, 2009, 60 Posts, 169 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Hackley on January 7, 2011 at 5:27 PM
Catching up from Xmas break, excellent shot with wonderful detail , well done.
Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on February 7, 2011 at 9:08 PM
Razor sharp, excellent colors & exposure Douglas.
Really like this for its dramatic content, wish I owned a shot like this..
Well done :toast: :toast:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments