Red-tailed Hawk

[David Salem]

This is a handsome adult male that stuck around my area for a few weeks. If I got to his favorite hunting spot at the crack of dawn he would let me get pretty close to him as he scanned the area for breakfast.
I caught him in the early morning light as he has just seen a coot and is off in pursuit.

1DX---840mm---f6.3---ss1/2500th---ISO800---HH from truck@7:15am---40% crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input. I appreciate it.

David

[Glennie Passier]

Nothing much to say about this one. Bloody fantastic!

[shane shacaluga]

Cracking frame! Looks like he is on a mission! Landing gear out and ready to strike

IQ top notch and subject is lit up very nicely

excellent shot!

[Satish Ranadive]

Magnificent image. Nice lights, beautiful color scheme and composition.
love the frame David.

Regards,
Satish.

[gail bisson]

Great BG and light.
Love the slight incoming angle and as always the IQ is excellent.
Gail
PS Just noticed your profile says you are an Avian Moderator. Congrats!

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi David, like the overall colour palette here, the soft tones of the BKG provides excellent standout for the subject. I think you could have afforded to go to 1/3200 very easily without any detrimental harm to the image, I might have even gone to f/8.


If I got to his favorite hunting spot at the crack of dawn he would let me get pretty close to him as he scanned the area for breakfast.

Isn't that a nice feeling, especially with a Raptor, hope to see more.

TFS
Steve

[Michael Thompson]

Great action shot! did it get the coot? RT s are common here in MN, but I can never seem to get a great shot, maybe early morning and lots of patience is key! I like sharpness of the head and body, the light, and nice simple background.

[keith mitchell]

David it looks good from wingtip to it's talons,bird stands out really well against that nice uncluttered BG,fine piece of work.

Keith.

[David Salem]

Thanks so much everyone for the comments. I appreciate your input.

Gail, Yes it was a surprise to me when the owners asked me to become an Avian Moderator. I am honored and hope I can help out in any way possible. Thanks allot.

Michael, thanks for the comment also but unfortunately for the hawk he didn't catch the coot.

[Mike Poole]

Fantastic 3/4 angled shot, great sharpness as expected from you. Wouldn't like to be a coot in his area!

Congrats on the new tag, looking forward to your input

Mike

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dave, love the light and IQ, and you have captured a good flight angle with the slight head turn towards you. I like the concentrated stare from the Hawk, well exposed, sharp, and rounded off with a lovely smooth BG.

[Loi Nguyen]

what not to like? The pose, the light, the sharpness. I especially like the 3D feel of the near wing and body. Loi

[Robert Kimbrell]

A great looking frame David. Good light on the Hawk and a nice background. Glad to have you as a moderator.

[adrian dancy]

A ripping dynamic shot here ...well done!

[William Dickson]

What a cracker. What can I say. What a Fab frame :S3:

Well done David

Will

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone. Im glad you like the image. It's one of my favorites of this guy.

[christopher galeski]

very nice,loverly BG,good detail,like the look on its face.TFS.

[arash_hazeghi]

Excellent take off frame Dave! love the light and the intensity

[Glenn Conlan]

Mr. Moderator nice takeoff shot of Reggie the Redtail. Perfect angle, like the feet hanging down

[Richard Flack]

Super image David, love the light and the intense look in his eyes. Also like the feeling of movement created by the wings and talons. all the best. Rich

[Frank Schauf]

Excellent flight pose and sharp details, David.

[Ritesh Nangare]

Magnificent image of rafter lovely flight image with bird sharply looking at something .... love the light here...

TFS....

[David Salem]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the comments.

[Marina Scarr]

First of all, huge congratulations on becoming an Avian Moderator!! A well deserved post after back-to-back images of the year.

This is such a dynamic take off pose. Perfect exposure and amazing details.