Red-tailed Hawk

Gallery: AvianPosted November 14, 201586 views4 comments

Pretty easy ID on this one sad

. Another one from Ridgefield 10 days ago. This was quite a cooperative bird and not as high up as many of them are. I took quite a few shots from the front then drove on and was able to get another batch from the rear (you're not allowed out of the car on the Ridgefield driving loop this time of year, so it involves some severe contortions to shoot backwards). I liked this preening pose where it had just pulled out enough for the beak to be visible.

7Dii, Sigma 150-600mm at 600mm, hand held, f/6.3, 1/250, iso 1250, aperture priority, pattern metering, +1/3 stop exposure compensation. Processed in LR5 & CS6. Cropped to a 4x5 aspect ratio with a little extra off the top and bottom to further reduce the sky. I put the perch and hawk on a separate layer and reduced the exposure on the bg a bit to make it less distracting. Taken at Ridgefield NWR at 11:43 am on a cloudy November 4th.

I appreciate all the comments and input on the through-the-screen Sharpie and look forward to your input on this image.

Thanks,

Comments

4 comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on November 14, 2015 at 3:30 PM

Neat shot Dennis, I like the preening pose and such a great look at the tail which can be diffiicult to see well in this species. My first thought was it's too centered but looking at it again I think it's perfect as the moss on the left of the bird is a nice element, nice job reducing the bright background. devil

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Allen Brooks on November 14, 2015 at 6:01 PM

I like the pose and the nice look at the tail feathers. Nicely framed on its perch. Do you have the sport or contemporary Sigma? Was at Ridgefield a couple of days after you on my way to the NPPNW conference. My first time there. Great birding, but I agree one has to be a bit of a contortionist to get the birds in the viewfinder.

Registered on July 27, 2011, 262 Posts, 2597 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on November 16, 2015 at 7:09 AM

Great to see where the bird get's it's name enlightened

, cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Stephen Kaluski on November 16, 2015 at 2:30 PM

Hi Dennis, just viewed the larger version and the subject does look/appear soft. Lighting wasn't on your side, but the SS is just too slow I feel for even this behavioural aspect which is a crying shame. I'm not sure how far you can 'physically' push the 7DMK2, but a starting point of ISO2500 might be start? Interesting about the BKG, I might have gone the other way to reduce the distracting elements and provide a hint more separation. Overall however, I think the light does convey a rather dull & gloomy day and looks right. devil

TFS
Steve

Registered on March 25, 2007, 189 Posts, 1064 Comments