Vanquished

[Lisa Williams]

Same hawk as the one posted a couple of days ago. This is at the beginning of his flight away from the Northern Mockingbird. Post processing: cropped, S/H of 25/55/45, slight sharpening, and Neat Image.
I kept the Agave plant in the bottom right to balance the image.
Canon 1D Mark III
1/3200Sec.
F8.0
Partial metering
0 EV
ISO 400
Lens EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM +1.4x
Focal Length 560.0 mm
sRAW
White Balance Daylight
AI Servo AF

C & C appreciated.
Lisa

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Hi Lisa, wow - that's some look....
Great image - for me, I think that the agave makes the perspective a little odd - but that could be just me...
I love the background colour and the hawk looks nice and sharp on my monitor. Love the clenched feet too!!

[Harold Davis]

hi lisa!! you sure captured a moment here!! only wished there were some separation between the two birds. i took your picture and lightened the cheekbones on the falcon. hope you dont mind!! nice job.

[Brian Wong]

Hi Lisa!

Very powerful image, and a nice sharp in-your-face under very hard/harsh light. I agree with some separation, and very nice that both birds have the down wing position, you also have a nice little diagonal going on there! Have you ever tried any of the eye enhancements? It may bring out the pupils, and an even better eye contact.

[Dave Slaughter]

Awesome shot! I've nothing to suggest - it's incredible that you were even able to get such an image.

[Desmond Chan]

As mentioned, wish there were more separation from the mocking bird. Perhaps you could consider blurring the background more? Nice capture !!

[Gus Cobos]

Great capture Lisa,
I always love a good chase...:eek: love the eye contact and the expression on the bird...:cool:

[Lance Peters]

All covered for me lisa - the seperation is the main issue. Well done.

:)

[Oscar Zangroniz]

Great capture Lisa, excellent head angle. Only nit is the second bird.
Congrats

[Katie Rupp]

Lisa, this is an awesome image and the great suggestions by the gang will make it even better.

[Lisa Williams]

Thanks all for the comments. I think your suggestions are very valid. I've just spent two hours repeatedly goofing this up while trying to incorporate the changes. I've tried extracting the hawk and putting him on a second image with the same background, I've tried different ways to mask the Mockingbird and the agave, all to no avail - all I manage to do is make a mess. I'm just not that good with photoshop.
I do appreciate the comments and suggestions.
Harold, I had lightened the eyes prior to posting, just not as much as you did. Your's are better.