Red Tailed Hawk at RCV Shoot this past weekend

[Brian Kent]

Taken on 11-13-10 at 4:50 PM in Manassas, VA. The light was low and getting that golden look to it - much better than earlier, where the sun was high and bright.
Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikon 300mm f4 on a tripod
ISO: 800
A: f/6.7
S: 1/180
Ok, some self critique - I could clean up some of that busy bokeh on the left, and maybe give the bird a bit more room on top. Other than that, I'm out of ideas! What do you think?
:-)
Brian

[Julie Kenward]

Brian, if this were mine I'd do one of two things here...I'd either show the entire bird or I'd crop in really tight on the head and shoulders. To me, this is like taking a photo of a person and cropping them off right at the knees. I can't help but wonder where is the rest of the bird? And the fact that he's so close to the top of the frame also feels "off" to me.

So, here's what I did...I cropped it and rotated the image a bit so he sat more even with the horizon and this showed off the strongest area of the image - those dautning eyes. You have a great catch light there and a strong head angle so capitalize on it and show off what you have. I'd still like to see a little more room at the top of the frame, though.

[Brian Kent]

You know, I was thinking about that very thing as I was playing around with this photo, i.e. should I crop in more? Now that you mention it, it is distracting to see the "start" of two legs, but then they get cut off. So I see your point, and I do love your re-composition! I'm gonna play around with adding a bit more breathing room at the top too.
Thanks!
Brian

[Brian Kent]

After rotating the image like you suggested, I added some canvas to the top and then used the Marquee tool to cut and paste a strip to the top. Feathered the merge, but it's still not perfect - but not bad either. But I do like it better!!!!! Thanks again!
Brian

[Maureen Allen]

Repost looks great, Brian. Nice shot!

[Brian Kent]

Repost looks great, Brian. Nice shot!
Thanks Maureen!!!!!
:-)
Brian

[Rachel Hollander]

I agree, the repost looks great Brian. Well done.

TFS,
Rachel

[Julie Kenward]

That's what I'm talking about! Great repost, Brian.

[Bill Dix]

Great light, color and detail, and terrific repost makes all the difference. Might wish his head turned about 2 degrees more toward you, but great image nonetheless.