Red-shouldered Hawk

[Kerry Perkins]

Captured at Sycamore Canyon (north of Malibu) in mid-day sun. Cloned out a branch in the ULC and some twigs that were distracting. I had the 580EX II on, as I was shooting small birds in the shade, but at this shutter speed I don't think it was doing much. Probably accounts for the smaller catch-light at the bottom of the eye.

50D, EF400mm f/5.6L
Manual mode, f/5.6@1/4000 ISO 400 WB 5100K
AI Servo autofocus, hand-held no flash

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Nice pose and BG Kerry. Might give the bird a bit more sharpening or do they look soft (not sure). WD.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Jackie. I've been having some trouble lately with sharpening. I seem to get "not quite enough", or "a little too much". Must be my eyes! I will re-post with a bump in the sharpening and see what you think. Thanks!

Here it is...

[Katie Rupp]

Hi Kerry, I agree with Jackie re sharpening and I might take a little off the right side. That said, it's might fine and wish it were mine.

[Peter Farrell]

Re-post helped the bird but hurt the BG and perch. Didi you sharpen the whole image or just the bird?

[Kerry Perkins]

Peter, I applied Nik Sharpener Pro to the bird only with a brush. Should not have affected the rest of the image.

[Ray Rozema]

Nice pose and color. Looks like a little bit of noise on the bird and perch
Repost is better.

TFS
Ray

[Bill Dix]

Lovely bird. You captured his signature orange breast plumage nicely, and the head angle is great. Capture angle, on the other hand, looks a bit steep. On my screen it seems the second round of sharpening helped the head but brought out a bit of noise on the breast. I agree it's tough to get it right and I rarely do. In any event, a nice shot.

[Oscar Zangroniz]

Nice capture Kerry. Excellent pose, not sure on HA and eye contact. Agree with you on the sharpening, sometimes I give it too much and other times too little.

[Lance Peters]

Hi Kerry - repost does look better - a wide halo around the tail area???
Still does seem a little soft - maybe due to the harsh light???
Personally I might go for a little more room top and bottom - feels a little tight for my tastes.
Good show :)

[Harold Davis]

repost does look better. i like the majestic pose. seems OK in the frame to me. just the steep capture angle for me.

[Julie Brown]

This image would be a keeper for me Kerry. I would love to see these birds in my area. Interesting discussion here. How do you like the Nik software?

[Kerry Perkins]

Julie, I end up using the Nik filters quite a bit. My other faves are the Topaz filters.