Hi Jeffery Got a couple of suggestions but as Lance will wait !! ... do want to give a hint, there is no exposure compensation given (hold on Jeffrey don't give :) ) but seems to be the key.
... can comment on the overhead position which I like and overall sharpness !!!
Nice wing span Jeffery. My guess would be that it was underexposed. See a fair bit of noise when I looked carefully. My guess would be that it needed + compensation. But pretty darn nice shot.
If the image was made during a sunny day (looks like it) according to the sunny sixteen rule it is about one under and exposure comp for that image should have been at least one over...or if it came close enough would try flashing but using much lower shutter speed so the light would reach !!! ... did great in the processing !!!
I went back to raw file I had worked on in lightroom and exposure was
-0.14 from where shot. Due to other things I have read I was worried that the orginal exposure was slightly overexposed. I don't understand how you are able to determine what the perfect exposure is supposed to be.
I went back to original file and changed back to 0, sized and sharped the exact same as orignal and do not see much difference in the image.
The hawk was shot on a somewhat sunny day. This shot happened to catch him best. I saw him hunting in a field while I was driving. I had to pull over, change lenses and handhold through the sunroof. The image would have been sharper if I had a better lens on. The 70-300VR is my bag lens for everyday carry. It does a pretty nice job for the money.
I am not sure what the policy is here about updating or changing the original post so here is image with changed exposure.
Last edited by Jeffrey Smigielski; 02-06-2010 at 08:07 PM.
Reason: spelling
Figuring the exposure is simple, on a sunny day it will be 16 over the ISO. In this case 16/400 .... or 11/800 Yours is 11/1600 When shooting a bird overhead you are shooting the shaded side of the bird so more exposure is in order. If you point at the sky and set the meter for plus one, you will get a comparable exposure to reading green grass or a neutral exposure. Add one for the under side and you can see it is close to two over.
With strong light and back lit (sun is from the other side of the bird) it is possible to blow the sky and have a perfectly exposed bird !!
I'm sure you will have another shot a hawk in no time !! Neat birds !!!
Hunting Hawk
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