Red-tailed Hawk

[Duane Noblick]

I have recently discovered I have photographed this particular RTH over the last two years judging by the broken right talon (not pictured in this image). It is very tolerant of people despite being a wild Raptor. I spent nearly 3 hours with it this past Saturday as it flew from perch to perch as it hunted..it eventually landed on a limb in favorable light and a pleasing BG. I have several frames with various head angles but Iliked the concentrated look in this one.



Canon 50D, 500mm f/4L, manual, f/4.5, 1/1600", ISO 320, partial metering, tripod

Self critique: Needs CCW rotation and the Pine needle crossing the tail needs to be removed.

I also removed part of a tree in the upper right corner of the frame. Cropped (not much) for composition. Some shadow recovery in my RAW conversion.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the angle, alert pose and sharpness. I don't mind the needles but wish the head were more evenly lit.

[Keith Carver]

Nice pose and BG, Duane. I agree with Axel that more uniform lighting on the head would improve the image.

[david cramer]

Great image with a nice perch (I don't mind the pine needles). Agree about the shadow on the face. I would also darken some of the brighter areas in the bg, which is wonderful as a whole.

[Duane Noblick]

Thank you for your opinion on the shadow across the face. I actually like it but I'm sure I have other frames where the wind blew the leaves and the sun shined on the entire Hawk.

The problem I had with the light was it was close to lunchtime so the filtered light was a blessing in this situation. I toasted the highlights on many of the images of the lower white feathers due to the harsh light...so I'd rather deal with the little shadowing. :)

[Doug Brown]

All in all a very nice image. It's a lot of fun getting to know a bird of prey over time. A little more patience with this raptor and you'll get the perfect image!

[Duane Noblick]

All in all a very nice image. It's a lot of fun getting to know a bird of prey over time. A little more patience with this raptor and you'll get the perfect image!

In my opinion for me this is close to the perfect image....it's the setting I've been waiting on for close to two winters following this Hawk. According to what I read on here and other sites there will never be a perfect image..ahhhh...the joys of everyone having an opinion on what they like and what they don't.

And if I ever do get the perfect image (which I know will never happen) I might as well sell my camera gear because all my motivation to better myself as a photographer will be taken away with that one frame. ;)

[Steve Canuel]

Great BG. Perch is nice (pine needles ok either way). I also like the shadow on the head/upper body as the face and beak seem sufficiently lit to me.