This image was made in Carlsbad, Ca. this spring. The Redtail pair at this site raised 4 fledglings and they all left the nest sucessfully.
This is the first time I've seen 4 raised. This late afternoon, the adult was completely frazzled and screamed constantly at her fledges as they flew about the area. You got the impression she wanted them gone and out of there.
1DMKIII
500 4/L IS USM handheld w/Bushawk
1/1250 f/4.5
+1/3
ISO 800
This is quite the pose and action you nabbed here Chris. I agree with Harshad's suggestions especially on the contrast boost. That hawk looks a little rough around the edges no doubt after a long breeding season. Sometimes that is how I look after a long weekend of chasing the kids around to all their various activities.:D:D
A dynamic moment captured here, good impact for me. I do agree about the softness.
Does it represent much of a crop?
Certainly worth revisiting it to see if you can get a bit more out of it. Perhaps this is the best it can be, but if it were mine, I might have another go at it!
I had a minute to look more closely at your image. I pulled the highlight slider in, which brought up the whites. I did some minor color balance tweaking to reduce the green color cast. I made a quick pass at selectively sharpening the head. The posted image was pretty small (127 KB), so it didn't respond gracefully to sharpening, but I would certainly pursue that on the RAW file. Overall, I think the tweaks help brighten the image and reduce the slightly murky feel it had.
Chris - a dramatic and striking moment captured. The subject is well isolated giving you that lovely bg. The WB appears a little odd on my monitor and while I must say the re-worked post by Randy did lighten it up I prefer your original darker mood one.
If you had shot it in RAW it is definitely worth a re-work to lighten up just a tad.
Randy - This one looks very much like a painting, good job here too.
Thanks you guys. I do like the repost, Randy. I do need to work on my sharpening for things not going to print. I think she is an older Redtail judging by the wear on her feet and legs alone. I will go back to the raw image and start over with your suggestions. Thanks again. Truly the value of this forum demonstrated here.
Redtail Screamer
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