Red-tail Hawk with prey

[ldelacruz]

Thanks again for looking at my photo and making suggestions. I would normally like more area around the subject but this is a full frame shot with no cropping. Taken on an overcast day.

Canon 40D with 500mm f4 IS and 1.4 TCII handheld

AV Mode
ISO 800
1/400
IS on
F6.3
700mm





I might have made a mistake on ID'ing this Hawk so I have posted other photos to help. Thanks again for everyones help

[Larry Daniel]

Excellent detail and eye catch light. Sure would have been better if you had more room behind the tail.

[Doug Hitchcox]

Nice image, good job handholding the 500. It is worth it to add some canvas to the left (remove some from right sequentially) and add some up top to give this bird some more room, as you pointed out.

[Maxis Gamez]

Great capture but too tight for my taste. I also wish the tail was not touching the edge of the frame.

[ldelacruz]

This is full frame and is not cropped. Besides the tightness is there anything else? Can more space be added in post?

[Fabs Forns]

Hi DelaCruz, all you had to do was move the camera to the left a bit, since you have extra negative space at the right, where you don't really need so much because the bird is looking towards the left. We prefer the subject looking into the picture and the bulk of the space in front of it. After the fact, yes, you could re-position the bird by cropping some off the right and adding canvas to the left and top. You will find instructions on how to do this in the Educational Resources Forum, but it's best to try and get the best possible at the time of capture.
Will be looking forward to more :)

And Big Welcome to BPN! Bienvenido!

[ldelacruz]

Thanks for all the tips and I hope to get another opportunity like this one day.

[Arthur Morris]

Agree with all above esp. with Fabs' suggestion (though it would be best to point the lens to the left)

This bird looks long and skinny to me suggesting juvenile light Swainson's Hawk more than red-tail. The large eye-line and the tear-drop markings also fit for the former. Does anyone know for sure?

[Arthur Morris]

Howdy. What is your first name? I sent a link to your image to Ned Harris who is a raptor expert. Here is what he wrote, "Hi Artie: This is a juvenile Swainson's Hawk. Do you know when and where this was taken? They should be in Argentina at this time of the year. I had Bill Clark confirm the i.d. Best Regards, Ned"

Bill Clarke is the world's premier raptor expert. So the big questions are, where and when was the image made?

[ldelacruz]

Howdy. What is your first name? I sent a link to your image to Ned Harris who is a raptor expert. Here is what he wrote, "Hi Artie: This is a juvenile Swainson's Hawk. Do you know when and where this was taken? They should be in Argentina at this time of the year. I had Bill Clark confirm the i.d. Best Regards, Ned"

Bill Clarke is the world's premier raptor expert. So the big questions are, where and when was the image made?

Thanks for all the help Arthur. My name is Lonnie and the picture was taken in late January in Katy, TX. Katy is 20 miles west of Houston, TX. The photo was taken near the field office of the Katy Prairie Conservancy. More info about th conservancy is here: http://www.katyprairie.org/

I also added 4 photos to help with ID'ing the Hawk. Thanks again for being so helpful.

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Lonnie, Thank you sir and YAW. Where are the four images that you posted?

I am looking forward to seeing more of your images.

[ldelacruz]

Hey Lonnie, Thank you sir and YAW. Where are the four images that you posted?

I am looking forward to seeing more of your images.

Are they showing up on this thread? I can see them on my PC. They should be below the first image of this thread? Let me know?

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Again Lonnie, All that I see are little red Xes. Forum rules allow only one image/pane. IAC, if Bill Clarke say that it is a juvie Swainson's then that is what it it. If you would like to post one additional image that shows a different view, please do it in a new pane below. Thanks bro!

[ldelacruz]

I trust Bill Clarke so no worries here.