Landing on a dream

**paul leverington** · 10-09-2009, 07:29 PM

Attached Images

**Arthur Morris** · 10-09-2009, 07:35 PM

Not sure if I have seen this one before but it is brutally stunning. Love the setting, the SH, the snow and the dreamy mood. And the talons out pose and the perfectly spread tail and the light.

**Tony Whitehead** · 10-09-2009, 07:37 PM

I can see why you like the winter if it brings images like this, Paul. Lovely spread wings and tail and colours leap out against the surrounds. Some selective lightening of the eye may be an option to explore.

**Jim Fenton** · 10-09-2009, 07:37 PM

This is simply whimsically stunning.

Brian Barcelos · 10-09-2009, 07:38 PM

Paul, totally agree with this being a "dream", beautiful wing and tail spread, talons out and intent stare. The snow and FG put this over the top for sure. Only thing I'd do here is lighten the iris a bit. Big Congrats

**denise ippolito** · 10-09-2009, 07:46 PM

Hi Paul, Outstanding image. Great landing pose w/ fanned tail and I think the snow puts it over the top. Would you mind sharing your shooting info. Looking forward to more of your "winter" images!

**Sid Garige** · 10-09-2009, 07:46 PM

Fantastic image Paul. Wonderful subject in perfect pose and fantastic mood.

**Stephen Stephen** · 10-09-2009, 07:50 PM

Paul just a wonderful image here. It would be a dream for me just to see this let alone capture for posterity and to share with us. Thanks.

**paul leverington** · 10-09-2009, 08:03 PM

Howdy Denise--the shooting data was f/5, 1/800 sec, and Iso 500. I think I figured at the time if I went under 1/800 speed I most likely would wind up with some wing blur. I definitely wanted to keep the iso as close to 400 as much as possible too. I was very fortunate that the day previous snowed a very soft thick blanket of snow, and it stuck on the trees and was still there the next day. Otherwise the BG would have been a whole lot darker. It was very quiet in the woods that day to say the least.

Paul

**denise ippolito** · 10-09-2009, 08:08 PM

Thanks Paul, I always like to know the shooting info. You did a fantastic job w/ the image.Thanks for sharing.

**Colin Driscoll** · 10-09-2009, 08:37 PM

Outstanding! Do you have a story of how you manged to be in the right place at the right time?

**Raymond Barlow** · 10-09-2009, 08:38 PM

extrodinary image Paul congrats.

Art Kornienko · 10-09-2009, 08:53 PM

Hi Paul, just wondering if you were in a blind, and was there any bait being used. Beautiful shot.

**Harshad Barve** · 10-09-2009, 09:41 PM

Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

Not sure if I have seen this one before but it is brutally stunning. Love the setting, the SH, the snow and the dreamy mood. And the talons out pose and the perfectly spread tail and the light.

Ditto Arthur here and I will add WOW
TFS

**John Blumenkamp** · 10-09-2009, 10:08 PM

Stunning image Paul... the colors and tones of the hawk are really impressive in the snow. Fantasic work. ;-)

**Keith Bauer** · 10-09-2009, 10:28 PM

This is the best image I've seen of a Red Tail. Simply jaw dropping impact when you open the image. Thanks for sharing this one.

**Jim Fenton** · 10-09-2009, 10:31 PM

I stopped back by before bed for another look and was going to ask if this was baited...but it looks like others have asked previously. I'll check back tomorrow.

**paul leverington** · 10-09-2009, 10:46 PM

Beef stew meat --never, ever; live food; no hide; pure wild hawk. And a friend of mine. The scene was an orchestrated compositional vision of mine--it would be unfair to all of my peers to say it "just happened" and somehow I can be so lucky or gifted to get a shot like this that way. Lot's of work, lots of thought, lots of tweaking, lots of time. I have to admit, it all seems more worthwhile when I get the reaction as all of you gracious folks are giving it. I'm sure like many of all of you, I hope to be able to help the world that I so love with my photography, even if it's just a bit. So the more powerful I can make it the better.

Paul

**Stu Bowie** · 10-10-2009, 01:38 AM

BRILLIANT!!!!

Daniel Belasco · 10-10-2009, 01:59 AM

What a dream shot!!
Fantasatic.
Only minor fault is the c white curl straight below the tallons. It draws the eye in to try to figure out what it is--and it's nothing. Takes away from the dreamy flow of the snow/clouds what we like.
dan

**Desmond Chan** · 10-10-2009, 02:19 AM

Stunning mate !! With a subject and background like that, no wonder you like to shoot in the winter.

**David Fletcher** · 10-10-2009, 05:24 AM

Outstanding shot Paul. Congratulations. All been said. !!!!!!

**paul leverington** · 10-10-2009, 07:41 AM

Hey Danny thanks for that observation. I hadn't thought of that to be honest. What the object is a half snow covered rock, and is what he's about to land on. Very faintly you can see two more in the distance. But you bring out a good point that makes me wonder whether i should make it more clear that it is a rock by darkening it some. I really wouldn't want to eliminate it altogether as that would leave what the action is open ended. But good point Dan on that one.

Paul

**Arthur Morris** · 10-10-2009, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by paul leverington

Beef stew meat --never, ever; live food; no hide; pure wild hawk. And a friend of mine. The scene was an orchestrated compositional vision of mine--it would be unfair to all of my peers to say it "just happened" and somehow I can be so lucky or gifted to get a shot like this that way. Lot's of work, lots of thought, lots of tweaking, lots of time. I have to admit, it all seems more worthwhile when I get the reaction as all of you gracious folks are giving it. I'm sure like many of all of you, I hope to be able to help the world that I so love with my photography, even if it's just a bit. So the more powerful I can make it the better. Paul

OK. Not baited. And not the breeding season (I would assume.)

So please do explain all the thinking and hard work and time that went into this. And especially all the tweaking.

**Mike Tracy** · 10-10-2009, 08:24 AM

Gorgeous for all the reasons mentioned. I really like the feel to this.

The only aspects I notice that need tweaking is his left foot looks somewhat detached due to the leg being too bright. Also desaturating the 4 dark vertical bands would further place more emphasis on the hawk.

Can you be so kind as to provide the full exif data ?

**paul leverington** · 10-10-2009, 09:05 AM

He's baited Artie--just never once did I use LIVE bait. Beef stew meat cut up and sometimes chicken and such. Any hoo--I have been photographing him for close to ten years now and have hundreds of thousands of pictures of him. And as you now know I can be a bit wordy so do you want the long version--or the short version? Both will have to wait till tonight unfortunately--gotta go to work right now.

Paul

**paul leverington** · 10-10-2009, 09:25 AM

MIKE YOUR DEAD RIGHT ON ME THINKS. I didn't catch that one either, the left leg disappearing being the biggest tweak needed of the two. But certainly it wouldn't hurt the comp to lighten the darker areas of the BG either. The underside of course is capitalising on the reflected light off the snow, so it really lights up when he's a mere foot off the snow, but maybe when I set the white point or did a curves adjustment the luminace went a little too far. I did post the data when Denise asked for the same thing above. If theres anything else you want to know just ask. Thankyou for your insightful observance and critique.,

Paul

**Mike Tracy** · 10-10-2009, 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by paul leverington

I did post the data when Denise asked for the same thing above. If theres anything else you want to know just ask. Thankyou for your insightful observance and critique.,

Paul

Sorry, My oversight. Although I read everyones comments I guess I need to slow down.

**Manos Papadomanolakis** · 10-10-2009, 10:42 AM

Hi Paul, Outstanding image.......killer pose,mood,wing position!!!

**Arthur Morris** · 10-10-2009, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by paul leverington

MIKE YOUR DEAD RIGHT ON ME THINKS. I didn't catch that one either, the left leg disappearing being the biggest tweak needed of the two. But certainly it wouldn't hurt the comp to lighten the darker areas of the BG either. The underside of course is capitalising on the reflected light off the snow of course, so it really lights up when he's a mere foot off the snow, but maybe when I set the white point or did a curves adjustment the luminace went a little too far. I did post the data when Denise asked for the same thing above. If theres anything else you want to know just ask. Thankyou for your insightful observance and critique.,

Paul

What happened? You said that you were going to work???

**Danny Laredo** · 10-10-2009, 12:38 PM

Killer image. Fantastic capture. Love the pose and faned out tail.

**Ramon M. Casares** · 10-10-2009, 12:38 PM

Simply stunning! Pose, comp, light, exposure, detail, species, sharpness and exposure all is simply perfect IMO.
Congratulations!

**Jim Fenton** · 10-10-2009, 01:07 PM

Thanks for the update on the circumstances Paul...

It truly is a beautiful image creation.

**paul leverington** · 10-11-2009, 11:41 AM

Ya busted me Artie. I was procrastinating getting out of here yesterday and thought I could sneak in on more short reply. Hee-hee....best watch my step around you!

Well you asked about a couple of things so I'll see what I can answer. I guess the hawk is in breeding plumage--or at least done with all the molting. Another reason I do a lot more shooting in the winter of him. Is there a change from the winter plummage to the spring when he begins courtship again? I don't think there is --but maybe. But he is spectacularly in perfect shape in the winter. He always stays over too, I've read where they migrate sometimes. He's very fortunate for to have a relatively stable undisturbed habitat brimming with food source--not including my offerings.

Hopefully the following is not more than you looking to hear. My shooting style is to work with different props, light, textures, concepts, visions, compositions sort of like one does in a set up scenario, but to a greater extent to where one might compare it to a hollywood set. A huge part of it is in creating some semblance of depth going into the picture. To create your own compositon gives me greater control of conveying my visions--it's actually just like a painter looking at a blank canvas and being able to do what he wants to. Nothing new under the sun with this, just relating in a general way how I shoot this guy. I would definitely rather create a scene with objects and circumstnces in the real world than any ammount of PS trickery such as adding background and all that stuff.

In this shot for instance the rocks are bought and hauled from a garden center. They are very interesting as they were reddish and covered in lichen--from pennsylvania. Bought a palette of them for around 260 bucks and carted them by hand to my shooting site. Of course here on this shot, that all has little value but in other compositions it's powerful--reddish rocks--redtail--see where I'm going--see the possibilities starting to click? I have brought in and created entire fields with transported plants of choice color and type to match my themes, glued them to mounts with nails on them so as to be able to position and reposition, to hone in on the composition I'm conjuring up. Mountains of ice have been brought up for my "ice hawk" series(no one has seen these yet), Twisted trees hauled in for my "Deadwood USA" series, which I believe you have seen one of. They were mounted on plywood bases also so they were repositionable and are the remains of a fruit orchard belonging to a friend of my father who served in WWII with him. On and on. I do set ups for creative control--but take the idea to a much greater level than a stick and flower.

This shot was worked out for distance to subject, distance from subject to background, angle at which the subject flies into the scene at, ground fog effect, rock composition and arrangement and so on. Some scenes evolve over weeks of trial and error, thinking and reshooting. In the background area in this shot for example you'll see some subtle rust colored areas. Those were added by me to give a little supporting color and augmentation to his rust colored tail. What they are are branches of those oak trees that retain their fall leaves all winter, that i found as trimmings. Brought them in and positioned them far off in the bg behind the snow covered trees so as to add a little more interest and realism to the bg. Waiting for the exact right day, with a very muted, but still evident sun for light, that made him glow incredibly sweet with the light reflected off the snow below him--total diffussion and still natural feeling. I don't think you could do better even in a studio.

Lastly I study comp. I know- a bit of a sore subject between us at the moment, but we will come to understandings of that I am certain. I will go to the museum or a close second, to the art print sites and sometimes "shop" for a composition that rocks me. Doesn't matter at all what the painting is, just whether I can build upon the basic elements, insert my own comp units, and come away with an emotionally powerful comp. I gained great affirmation of my method when I found out that Henri Cartier Bresson did exactly the same to learn his way to the level that he did. I started researching him when I realized that his stuff was so full of good composition, and sure enough, as a young man he spent hours upon hours in museums just looking at art. There's a lot of "we all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us" in this thinking I suppose sums it up. Why spend even a day trying to figure something out that the others have mastered and layed out for later endeavors to utilise and put their own spin on? So there is a lot of drawing on my part where ideas and comps are tweaked and tried before commiting to the actual physical work out in the field.

Hope this gives a greater understanding.

Paul

**Lorant Voros** · 10-11-2009, 05:19 PM

I don't know how I could miss this one.....fantastic...everything has been mentioned above. Love your work.

Ákos Lumnitzer · 10-11-2009, 05:26 PM

As per my Hungarian brother above.

The thumbnail I thought was a duck. Ooops. It is simply incredible and you made me consider baiting using beef chunks. It's better feed it to a BOP than me anyway. :D

I totally love your methodology and hard work involved in obtaining this image. Man, this just made me fall of my chair in AWE!! HUGE CONGRATS! :)

**Raymond Barlow** · 10-12-2009, 12:17 AM

Hi Paul., I enjoyed the read, and I like a photographer who has a respectable understanding of art. Your creative side is a wonder, the amount of effort going into your creations is spectacular.

Taking the concept of bird photography to a artistic level is far more difficult then most people realize., getting past the snapshot is the fun! and we can always learn!

One day, a visit your "studio" would be awesome. take care.

**Kiran Poonacha** · 10-12-2009, 03:42 AM

Big congrats on the powerfully beautiful image, Loved it all the way...

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