Southern New Jersey - 1D3, 500mm, 1/2500, F5, hand held, ISO 800, manual exposure
This Coopers Hawk was diving down to harrass a Great Horned Owl decoy. I made this image in October during the Hawk migration along the east coast.
Southern New Jersey - 1D3, 500mm, 1/2500, F5, hand held, ISO 800, manual exposure
This Coopers Hawk was diving down to harrass a Great Horned Owl decoy. I made this image in October during the Hawk migration along the east coast.
Jim Neiger - Kissimmee, Florida
Get the Book: Flight Plan - How to Photograph Birds in Flight
Please visit my website: www.flightschoolphotography.com 3 spots remaining for Alaska bald eagles workshop.
WOW, That is Outstanding!!!
Hi Jim - I wasn't aware that I had a Hawk named after me!!
What a stunning display of wings and fanned tail, not to mention the intricate patterns in the plumage. The light grey/blue BG suits the subject's warm tones very well. Superb Capture!!
Hi Jim!
Beautiful capture....love the top view of the spread wings and tail. Nice head position and perfect exposure. It's a stunner!
Excellent pose, light and eye contact. If anything, I might add a bit room at the bottom and crop a bit off the right but that's just a matter of personal preference. It's great as it is.
Outstanding as usual Jim, what an incredible image. I'm curious about the fact that the whole bird appears sharp even though you're shooting pretty wide open (f/5) and the bird is tilted slightly...is this cropped much? I've just got a 500 (woohoo!) and am keen on BIF with it - hence the question.
Awesome posts on bumping the focus, etc, in the other forums too...thanks heaps. It's a little hard for me to get to Florida for your workshops;), so your advice is GREATLY appreciated.
Cheers, Dean
Gorgeous Jim. Love the flight pose with the incredible wing spread. Awesome capture and timing !!!
This is just fantastic!!
Outstanding image - the tone and clarity are superb!
Sick. Just sick
Love that fanned tail. Another great image from you, Jim.
just...."wow" !!!
OMFG :eek:
Spectacular image!!!
I guess I cannot comment it with other words than I used to use when posting something on your images.:eek:
This is just stunning. For my taste I would add a bit more room around (maybe 10% more).
How I should imagine this owl decoy thing? Did you just placed the owl on a visible perch and waited for the birds attacking it? I guess it was a dead owl ;):D Your help would be appreciated.
Szimi
What a cracking image.!!! You have great skill, Jim.

I imagine it was something like this:
http://www.overtons.com/modperl/prod...r=view&i=25538
Great image!
Jim Neiger - Kissimmee, Florida
Get the Book: Flight Plan - How to Photograph Birds in Flight
Please visit my website: www.flightschoolphotography.com 3 spots remaining for Alaska bald eagles workshop.
Dean,
This is a slight crop ~20% or so. The bird was only slightly tilted and was within the focal plane. If the bird was tilted away I would have needed F7.1 or F8 to get it sharp from wingtip to wingtip assuming I focused somewhere near the middle. If I had a 1.6 crop camera like a 40D, I could get the same results with F5.6 or F6.3. There is about 1-2 thirds of a stop DOF difference between the 1.3 crop cameras and the 1.6 crop cameras. You would need another 1/3 or so for full frame cameras.
Jim Neiger - Kissimmee, Florida
Get the Book: Flight Plan - How to Photograph Birds in Flight
Please visit my website: www.flightschoolphotography.com 3 spots remaining for Alaska bald eagles workshop.
Truly awesome image!! Nothing more to add
Outstanding flight shot! As a bander, I find myself looking for molt patterns on this guy...which is almost easier than it is with a bird in hand. Kudos on a superb action shot and on the technique of creating a situation in which good things could happen.
Thanks heaps Jim, much appreciated.
Simply outstanding!
Jim this board is so busy it's easy to miss some great images.. This is just great.....