Skilled pilot

[arash_hazeghi]

I got this frame in SoCal a few months ago when photographing young copper's hawks. I usually like cleaner BG's without any distraction but I broke my rules for this shot because it shows a particular behavior for this bird. While the peregrine falcons are the fastest raptors in open skies, the copper's hawks are perhaps the most skilled pilots. These birds can fly at full speed through dense branches and tree trunks, they reshape their feathers and body in flight so they can pass through extremely tight spaces, allowing them to navigate the dense canopy without needing to break out of their cover by soaring to the sky. This BBC Videoshows how Goshawks do the same thing. Any ways, too much ranting, but I wanted to share this image. And the AF credit goes to the 1DXII which locked exceptionally well despite raptor coming it at high speed against such crazy BG.

1DX MKII 400 DO II + 1.4X III. ISO 2500. f/5.6 at 1/2500 sec. DPP 4.4 Hand held.

[Tim Foltz]

Arash, I'm glad you posted this, it shows when shot correctly how much environment can really add to an image.
Great sharpness, eye contact, wing position and BG.

-Tim

[keith mitchell]

Totally agree with Tim it just shows with a bit of skill what can be achieved getting this bird to show as well as this even against a very busy bg,thanks for this.

Keith.

[Steve Kaluski]

Loved it when I first saw it Arash at the weekend and I still think it's a cracking image having viewed it again here. Awesome shot, great capture, superb skill.

TFS
Steve

[Bill Dix]

Glad to see you break your rules once in a while. Amazing AF capture in that environment, and very instructional. Well done.

[Juan Tolentino]

Really nice shot, everyone here knows how difficult this is. Excellent!

[John Whaley]

Awesome capture with tack focus on the eyes. Raptors in flight are my favorite subjects and I know this was a difficult shot to get. I find the background interesting and unexpected in this one.

[Brian Desjardins]

Hi Arash, what a gorgeous shot, awesome details and sharpness, love the wing position, thanks for the extra info too. Well done!!


Brian

[Isaac Grant]

Bird looks 3 dimensional on my screen from your superior processing. Hawk looks perfect to me. Sharp with a perfect wing pose. Beautiful image quality for ISO 2500 as well. I really like the way most of the background looks but if being honest I find the large branch that dissects the bird a little distracting.

[William Dickson]

All been said. Amazing image, it looks almost 3D on my monitor. The BG fits perfectly for that bird. Similar to our sparrowhawk. Well done Arash on a very difficult capture.

Will

[Glenn Conlan]

Not many Cooper hawk flight shots for many reasons, your skill level helped nail this hawk in a most difficult focus lock situation considering the BG. Well done Arash. These birds accelerate very quickly and coming at you is a real focusing challenge