"Afternoon Snack"

[Gus Cobos]

“Afternoon Snack”

Note:
This is my first Hawk capture. I was so excited that I did not want to loose precious time in attaching my speedlight; for fear of him flying away. Mr. Hawk came in for a snack and was difficult to get him in the clear; he was hiding under a thick canopy of leaves and branches. I just compensated on the exposure EV and took him. This is the reason why he is in mixed light and shadows.

Mr. Hawk is one of the residents at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in West Palm Beach County. He was painted with a Nikon D70s using a Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4 D IF-ED lens, and a Nikkor 1.4 T/C.

Image Solution:
focal length @ 630mm / exposure mode @ aperture priority / matrix metering / ISO @ 400 /1/400sec - f/5.6 / exposure comp @ +0.7EV / white balance @ auto / AF Mode @ AF–C, dynamic range /color mode @ sRGB / tone comp @ +1 degree / hue adjustment @ +1 degrees / saturation factor @ +2 degree / no speedlight – ambient light / no tripod - hand held /

Comments greatly appreciated…:cool:


P.S. Can any of our Avian experts tell me what type of hawk this is…I have no clue...:eek::confused:

[Ilija Dukovski]

Nice capture, I love the action. Perfect crop. The baby blue of the sky comes nicely with the red tones
of the hawk. I would prefer a bit darker image, but that is largely a matter of taste.

This is Red-shouldered Hawk, quite common in Florida.

Cheers, Ilija

[Lance Peters]

Hi Gus - gotta love that excitment of the first shot of a particular species. Love the action, the eye contact and the sharp details.
As you noted lighting may not have been perfect - but sometimes you have to make the best of what you have got - cant think of any ways to improve with what you had to work with.
Well done.

[Kerry Perkins]

Very nice capture Gus and always a thrill to meet up with the raptors. Excellent light management especially given the top-lighting without fill flash. Nice warm colors in the bird set off by the cool blues of the background. Thanks for sharing!

[Oscar Zangroniz]

One of your best my friend, You have all the elements here; exposure,color balance, details, background, and head angle.
Congrats

[denise ippolito]

Gus, Nice shot-love the worm-mixed lighting BUT you handled it well. love the HA and pose. Congratulations on your first hawk capture! Well done!!!

[Gus Hallgren]

Hi Gus:

Great introduction to the Rapture World, super job, especially considering it's your first Hawk shot.

Well done, Young Man

Many thanks for sharing

Uncle Gus

[Richard Waas]

I love the challenge of doing the best you can under rough conditions and you my friend did a marvelous job. Congrats!!

[Nonda Surratt]

Congrats on your first hawk! Nice action Gus! They do have a thing for mixed light.

[Alfred Forns]

Big Congrats on your first Hawk and it is a red shoulder !!! Even nice catching him with a meal !!!

Mixed lighting makes it tough and not many options, fill flash is usually not effective with that much ambient light !!! You will get another soon !!! :)

[Dave Leroy]

Good for you Gus. Always nice to get a first. Looking forward to more. Dave

[Harold Davis]

big congrats on your first hawk!! love it with the meal. i missed this action! glad you got a chance at it!!!

[Kathy Reeves]

Congratulations on you first Hawk--great job!

Kathy