red-tailed hawk take-off

[annmpacheco]

Looks like a western 1st year juvenile, taken with Dave S and Gail B., last month. I settled for this image as the next one has a small clip of the wings and i don't know how to perform that surgery... I like the lone eye, bright and bold as he takes off...

Decreased exposure by .25, sharpened, sharpened head again, added pts of black for contrast, NR...

1Dx
840mm
iso 1600
f 5.6
1/2500

[arash_hazeghi]

pretty Cool take off frame, I wish for a better near wing position and that he had taken off parallel to the back of the camera. the colors a bit dull and mute for a red tailed, maybe add some warmth and saturation

TFS

[David Salem]

Great looking frame Ann! Love the intensity of this nice Juvie as he is about to launch. Details look great and I don't mind the wing position at all. I do agree with maybe a bit more warmth and saturation to this one, but otherwise the processing is looking better and better. Well done

[gail bisson]

Nice and sharp with that great SoCal BG.
You caught him just at launch point. Well done.
I too, feel this could go with more "warmth and I would also selectively brighten the bird,
Gail

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the take-off pose, details, complimentary BG and composition. Excellent image Ann.

[Isaac Grant]

Nice one Ann. Great action here. I agree about lifting the exposure. Also I would give a touch more sharpening to the head.

[Mike Poole]

Another great frame form SoCal Ann, I agree with the comments above, both yours and others! Of course a parallel take off would have been the icing on the cake, but it was not to be - you got all your part right and as you say, the eye does look really nice,

Mike

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Ann,
I like the intense look of the eye and this take off pose is fine with me. Adding a bit of saturation may be something to try but this is still a very fine image.
Allen

[William Dickson]

Well done Ann. This is looking real good. That BG was made for a bird like this. Beautiful details and I love that facial expression.

Will

[Randy Stout]

Ann:

Great look of concentration, color harmony, grip on perch.

In perfect world, wish the head didn't merge with the wing, but the eye draws our attention nicely.

Cheers

Randy

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Ann, well timed for the pre take off, and love the intent on the face/eye of the RTH. I like how the near wing is fully extended, and thats a really nice smooth BG. Well captured.