GHO - What a Thrill

[Kirk Benson]

This opportunity was completely unexpected. My wife and I were staying in a rental house on the beach in Cambria, CA. On our last morning I looked out the window to see this BIG beautiful GHO sitting on the fence.

As I waited 20 minutes for the sun to rise high enough to light the GHO, a crow came by and was determined to "scare" the GHO away by squawking continuously and flying by very closely. The GHO could not have cared less and stayed put much to my good fortune.

I don't care for the BG but this was the best of the different angles I tried. This was my first GHO and I am thrilled to have been able to photograph it at all.

Thanks for looking, C&C always welcome.

Nikon D70, 70-300 VR-II @ 300mm, f/7.1, 1/640 sec, 0 EV, ISO 200, Auto WB.

[Lana Hays]

Kirk
Sometimes you just have to photograph them as is and hope for another opportunity at some other time. You did a great job with the exposure and detail on the GHO. It would have been nice to have gotten some eye contact but then if he ignored the crows, I dare say you wouldn't have had much impact either. You've already mentioned the BG. One thing that might help would be cropping off the bottom to at least negate the perch. I've done a quick crop......see what you think.

[Kirk Benson]

Hi Lana,

I like the crop and had done the same thing but was afraid it would seem too tight on all sides. I guess because its already tight on three sides the cropped bottom works just fine. Thanks for looking and teaching me.