Red-tailed Hawk Hunting

[Raymond Barlow]

Hamilton Mountain, Ontario, Canada

Nikon D300 ,Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR
1/2500s f/4.0 at 240.0mm iso250

Hand held from F150, no flash, 80% of ff, levels sharpening, cloned out an un-natural perch lower left.

I was lucky to catch a series of flight shots with this bird making a run for some lunch (not baited).

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Thanks for the cool suggestions, I do like this crop much better., and a touch more contrast for Bonnie.



PS.. Robert... if you saw me climbing up through the sunroof of a F150, (at close range) with the black kit pointing right at you... yo might be inclined to chase dinner too!! :)

Actually, I was surprised the bird stayed still as long as it did, usually when I slow down, there are gone! This one had dinner in its sights, and look much more hungry then scared to me!

take care bud.

[Maxis Gamez]

Hello Raymond,

Lovely pose, very sharp and the details are amazing. I also like the underwing details.

[Bonnie Block]

Hi Raymond,
From another F150 owner;)--great looking image!
Excellent pose and good job on the exposure---maybe just a little hint more contrast?

[Brian Wong]

Hi Raymond!

Excellent midair action and expression. Was it just taking off, or just about to pounce?

[Doug Brown]

Very nice shot Raymond. I might move the bird a little down and to the left in the frame.

[David Hemmings]

As good as they get Ray, big congrats on this one!

[Don Lacy]

Very nice image , with wonderful detail under the wings.

[Raymond Barlow]

thanks everyone! ... yes bonnie, that contrast might help this one.

Hi Raymond!

Excellent midair action and expression. Was it just taking off, or just about to pounce?

Hi Brian, this is a lift off shot., it was sitting on a sound wall, along a major highway that runs through the city., this is the second frame in the series, the first one had the talons still touching the wall. :(

take care.!

[John Cooper]

A beautiful flight capture Ray showing excellent detail, exposure and comp. looks like his keeping an eye on you here! Superb effort!!!

[Mike Milicia]

Love the upturned feathers and the eye contact !
Techs look great ! Congrats on a wonderful flight image !

[Robert Sabin]

...Bird Looks Frightened....

[Jim Poor]

The posture mid-air is very interesting to me. It looks like that excited, adrenalin dump moment we humans get when we spot "the one" subject we've been looking for intensely. Very nice.

[Blake Shadle]

Very nice flight image, Ray. I really like the wing position and the underwing detail. I'd crop a little off the left and bottom, or place the bird a little lower and to the left like Doug mentioned ;)

[Jim Neiger]

Very nice, Raymond. I like the wing position and visible feather detail. He gave you a nice look as well. No nits from me.

[Philip Pietri]

Lovely image and great pose - only one nit: you can see a distinct line where you cloned on the bottom left corner.