HI - Ashleigh asked me to post this for her today.
Canon 5D Mark III
Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4x TC
ISO 400
f/5.6
1/1000s
Photographed on the edge of the Nat'l Elk Refuge, WY. We made several attempts to photograph these hawks perched on the tall posts, but they never seemed to want to sit still for long. This was actually a drive-by - I don't think we had the car stopped for this - just a quick focus on her part. She is still not trusting the ISO capabilities on the 5D enough - this could've been much higher, but she was worried about blowing out the snow in the background. She did some exposure adjustments in the RAW file and cropped about 15% off in Photoshop. Minor sharpening to the bird's face.
She has asked what you think of the crop, specifically.
Great image Ashleigh. Under the circumstances this is a super capture of this beautiful hawk. Not only do I like the crop because it adds to the lean of the hawk, but love the winter tones, including patches of snow. Doesn't bother me that we only see a portion of the talons behind what looks to be Chaparral.
Great eye contact and nice habitat. The crop works well for me. I might clone a little habitat into the bright spot of snow above the bird's head. And I think the bird could use some additional sharpening. Don't be afraid to push your ISO; the the 5D3 does ISO 800-1600 without breaking a sweat!
I love the bird, his stare, and the perch. The crop works nicely. It seems to me that the BG could use some NR, although it could be a bit tedious to select just the BG.
Awesome! These guys are so skittish around these parts. Love the crop Ashleigh, great eye for that. I agree with Doug to clone in some surrounding habitat into the very bright snow patch above (using a low opacity) just so our eye does not stray up there as much. Doubling the ISO and doubling the SS will yield the same exposure so you do not need to worry about blowing out the snow next time.
I'd be smiling for a long time if a had a Rough-legged Hawk image like this!!
These birds are SO skittish. You did great to get him perched. I am loving the habitat he has landed in and you may even wish to increase some of those colors just a tad. I personally wouldn't mess with the BG b/c I am not big into changing my images but that is a personal thing which you have to decide for yourself. I think this bird's head needs a little more sharpening.
I agree with the others on bumping up your ISO. In this kind of light with your camera, there is no reason to have your ISO set to anywhere below 800. It will seem uncomfortable to you at first, but you'll become much more confident with higher ISO's after you get a few under your belt. Your equipment CAN handle it.
great shot love the excellent eye contact! He does look a bit soft. Good advice given above, ISO 400 is way too low for a 5D3, I would have used 1600 w/o a doubt.
you can sharpen more like this (would be better to start from RAW)
Rough-legged Hawk
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