First Post / First Pic of 08

[Bob Malbon]

This was 8AM today in downtown Biddeford, Maine - The local Red Tail Hawk giving me the Raptor Eye as it takes off for a church steeple. f5.6 at 1/1000 - iso 160, AIservo, AF, ME - 500 f4 / 30D - handheld - I wish the churches this one uses were not so tall! - Bob Malbon

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Bob Maybe you can get him from the side The beam shooting out is very dominant !!!! Would suggest placing a 2X on your lens and isolate as much as possible !!!! That bird has character !!!!!

[Lana Hays]

Welcome, Bob
The first thing I thought about was moving around if possible to eliminate the beam. I'd try using a tripod for more stability. I'd also bump up the ISO which would allow for more shutter speed and DOF if you needed to handhold and/or use a teleconverter. The 2X teleconverter won't autofocus with the 30D but you could either focus manually (if you had time) or use the 1.4X TC which will autofocus. You obviously had the attention of the hawk and he's given you quite the look back. I know there are a lot of suggestions here but hopefully they will give you some things to ponder......and possibly help you capture that Red-tailed Hawk the next time you see him.

[Maxis Gamez]

I agree with the previous comments. Perhaps a different angle.

[Jim Neiger]

Bob,

Al and Lana have given you great advice. Another thing to try is to wait for the bird to fly and try to get him in flight. If you watch him for a while you may discover patterns in his behavior that allow you to predict when and where he will fly. Then you may be able to position yourself to get a good flight shot with a nice light andgle and nice bg.

[Bob Malbon]

Why did this get moved from wild? Thanks for all the good advice, nice to get real feedback for a change. Here is a better frame from before 1/1/08. Bob

[Lana Hays]

Bob
Your image was moved to this forum because the hawk was perched on the steeple.....which is a man made object...not a natural perch found in the environment. Some forums didn't make a big distinction about the perch. I personally like the idea of having a forum that is dedicated to captive birds and those that include the hand of man such as the perch. In this forum the perch is what it is....and the critique can concentrate more on ways to improve the whole image....not just suggest a different perch.