Ferruginous Hawk

[Doug Schurman]

This was my first time seeing a Ferruginous Hawk. I must saw they are striking. The bird allowed close viewing. This is a first year bird not yet in adult plumage. The sun angle was a bit harsh and I wish I was there earlier but I'll certainly take what I got. I had a few shots with various wing positions. The others had some issues with the way the light was shaded on the head. I do like the body positioning here. To me it seems like the bird is changing direction and moving with intent.

Canon 5D3, 1200mm, F8 ISO 800 SS 1/2000 Handheld
All post processing done globally in Lightroom.

All C & C welcome.

[Mervyn Marsh]

Hey Doug the iq on this looks really great, and I also love the bird and the flight shot.
nice one,
Merv

[Grace Scalzo]

Doug, typically not my most favorite wing position and I would comment on the shadows on the body, but in your frame, the way that the wings wrap around the body and the head is spotlighted, it works nicely. I'd like to see the beak stand out more from the far wing, and the only way I can think to do that is to burn it and make it slightly darker.

[dankearl]

I too, like how the head is lit up.
Nice work Handholding at 1200mm!

[gail bisson]

Tack sharp with great detail.
You have identified the wing position as problematic and I agree but I would still take this image in a heartbeat,
Gail

[Daniel Cadieux]

I'll have to agree about the wing position (especially the near one), but the head is just so sharp and our eyes just go straight to it. I also find the sky a tad to "electric" blue. A nice sighting for you with a nice image to remember it by!

[Doug Schurman]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

Grace I'm glad you mentioned the bill not being as prominent because of the wing in the background. I wasn't even thinking about this. This gives me more ideas for creating great images in the future.

Daniel, thanks for mentioning the sky color. I just dried the white balance dropper on the leading white edge of the wings and it lowered the temp by 200 and increased the tint by 10. I think the resulting color looks much better.

[Satish Ranadive]

Wonderful flight shot. Tack sharp head with nice angle. Nice composition too.

Regards,
Satish.