Tail Feathers.

[dankearl]

Red Tail Hawk at landing.

1/2000, f6.3, ISO 1250, 600mm (300 w/2x) D800, HH


DSC_4000bp.jpg (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=122974&stc=1&d=1357348646)


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[Karl Egressy]

The wing stretch and the fanned tail against a layered background, makes it an excellent picture, Dan.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Sweet, sweet pose. The intent stare, the talons, the spread wings and tail. Excellent bg to go along.
If anything, I would give him more room below than above and would brighten the bird just a tad.
Terrific work Dan!

[Satish Ranadive]

Magnificent landing pose captured.I like the position of the talons giving impression that he is going to grab some thing.
Love the wing position, fanned tail,color scheme in the frame and composition.Brightening the bird little bit will not harm the image.

Regards,
Satish.

[Jim Neiger]

I love the bg and landing pose. Too bad about the ratty tail feathers. I wish both eyes were clearly visible.

[Grace Scalzo]

I love the glow to this one. Less on top and more on the bottom might be a consideration. This one took my breath away when I opened it up.

[Nick Palmieri]

You are knocking these out of the park Dan! Nice capture.

[Mike Milicia]

Great pose and wonderful BG!

Agree with above re: comp and lightening bird a bit.

[Marina Scarr]

Terrific landing pose you nailed here, Dan. Like the split BG. There is a good view of the one eye so this works for me. I am seeing a very slight yellow cast. I took this image into PS and did a slight color balance adjustment. Also regarding Sidharth's idea, I lightened the raptor just a little in NIK from the eye to under the wing on the right side only, and I feel it improved an already great image.

[Bonnie Block]

Lovin' this, how could you not? I agree with the previous thoughts on lightening the bird up. Awesome!

[Julie Brown]

Really nice wingspread and background, Dan.

[Troy Lim]

Superb landing shot Dan. Is the 300 + 2x combo focusing better with the newer camera like the D800? Love to hear your thoughts on the combo.

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot Dan!!
Terrific wing position, nice light, and great background.
Well done.

[Don Nelson]

Well captured. While we could wish for a little better HA and nicer tailfeathers, the image has a lot going for it.
I think a little sharpening and some additional work will yield some additional benefit.
Something like this:
122983
Well done!

[dankearl]

Don,
I agree on the HA, (well not just the HA but the merge with the body), but I liked the feathers.
You brought up the exposure nicely, I did not think it needed sharpening, in fact, I did not sharpen at all.
Troy,
The D800 best feature is the low light capability.
I get a lot of keepers with the 300/2x combo because I can use high Iso to get high SS.
I take mostly flight photos these days because I like the challenge and I can shoot crazy high ISO
and get decent photos.
Flight photography is as much about skill and practice as equipment I think.
This photo is at iso1250 which to me with the D800 is low, I took a bunch of flight photos today
at 2000 and even 3200 that I think are nice and barely require NR.
I used one round of NR on this photo and no sharpening.

[Shawn Zierman]

Fantastic dramatic flight pose, and well captured!
I do like the brighter version that Don offered.
I think the tail feathers look great...maybe just some wet ends from the weather, but definitely not ratty imo.

[Don Nelson]

Dan
Previous not addtionally sharpened. Only masking, nik tonal contast, detail, white correction, plus eye fixes and some lightening, plus a boost on the yellows in the feet.
Here's one with additional sharpening, otherwise same as before
What do you think?
122986

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dan, great incoming pose with the full wingspread and fanned tail, and I like the tail feathers as they are. Love the soft light, two tone BG, and agree, more space below wont harm the image. With regards to Don's reposts, pane #14 and pane # 17, the additional sharpening in pane # 17 does show up nicely.

[dankearl]

Don,
Your repost looks good to me.
I have not sharpened my photo's enough recently as I just did not like the look of the sharpening.
I probably need to rethink this.
Thanks for taking the time and thanks to all for the nice comments.

[arash_hazeghi]

very cool Dan you have certainly mastered the D800, that sensor is making up for the short lens big time

I like Don's repost, does need more punch!

[David Salem]

Your having a great time with these hawks lately. Another nice capture and I like Dons last re-post. Great wing and tail spread. Very well done.

[PhilCook]

I really find it hard to cant between the brighter version or the original, but I think the last repost has an edge over the others.

Stunning shot Dan, loving the feather spread and two toned backdrop, I think the head turn/direction of eyes is perfect as is, he's obviously in hunting mode in this shot so the direction of stare is just right.

How in the world you find opportunities for these kind of shots amazes me....and teases as well....beautiful work as usual Dan

[Mike Veltri]

Excellent image of this juvenile, I like the repost with the bird brightened up as well.

[Troy Lim]

Thank you for your input. I can see this body shipping with my name soon.


Don,
I agree on the HA, (well not just the HA but the merge with the body), but I liked the feathers.
You brought up the exposure nicely, I did not think it needed sharpening, in fact, I did not sharpen at all.
Troy,
The D800 best feature is the low light capability.
I get a lot of keepers with the 300/2x combo because I can use high Iso to get high SS.
I take mostly flight photos these days because I like the challenge and I can shoot crazy high ISO
and get decent photos.
Flight photography is as much about skill and practice as equipment I think.
This photo is at iso1250 which to me with the D800 is low, I took a bunch of flight photos today
at 2000 and even 3200 that I think are nice and barely require NR.
I used one round of NR on this photo and no sharpening.

[gail bisson]

You are really nailing these flight shots Dan.
The repost with a bit of sharpening is my favorite.
Love the two toned BG as well,
Gail

[mohammad reza shahab]

Great pose and wonderful BG!

[Kiran Poonacha]

Beautiful posed captured here.. would love to make an image like this.. rgds, Kiran.