This sharp-shinned hawk had just taken a small bird in my backyard. Cloudy day, mid AM, Nikon D3s, Nikkor 200-400, hand held resting on the porch railing f/5.6, 1/320, ev+ 1.33, iso 400 and TC 1.4
Sharp-shinned hawk with small bird ( Predator and prey, Dec. theme )
This sharp-shinned hawk had just taken a small bird in my backyard. Cloudy day, mid AM, Nikon D3s, Nikkor 200-400, hand held resting on the porch railing f/5.6, 1/320, ev+ 1.33, iso 400 and TC 1.4
Gary, this is a real beauty! The pose and the head turn are lovely - we get a very nice overall view of the bird. I also like how there's texture and detail in the snow near his feet but then it goes off into just white air all around.
My one comment for strengthening the image would be to adjust the mid and dark tones a bit as they feel slightly overexposed. With all these white/light tones, it helps to have a counter weight with a nice true black somewhere in the image to help "ground" it so it doesn't feel like it's floating within the frame. Try dropping those darker tones just a bit to give it a punch of stability.
Really a lovely image...
Gary, I love this image! I would never have thought of the advice that Jules has offered, but I'll bet it would be a good adjustment. What a great experience to watch! I'm jealous!
Nancy
Beautiful bird that looks awsome against the white Bg. Great pose and HA. I would like to see a re-post with Julies suggestion. TFS
Peter
in your back yard! how lucky can you get :) I really like the bird's color against the white bg, a really super moment and super photo.
Repost after slight decrease in darks and mid tones
Julie thank you for the kind comments and critique. The repost incorperates your suggestion of slightly decreasing the mid tones and darks. To my eye, the suggestion is a winner.
Gary, for colors I prefer the original posting. Having seen a lot of Sharp-shinneds and similar Cooper's in my life, the second one is obviously way too saturated especially in the breast coloration. It looks artificial. Even the back looks overly dark for the bright conditions.
Rather than adjusting the mid and dark tones per Jules suggestion, I'd probably try to increase the contrast a bit to try to get the tail bands and wing tips to look darker. (Take this FWIWfrom somebody who has much to learn about post-processing.)
I agree with Paul on this...just back it down a bit or try a curves adjustment. I Love the eye in the repost - it really shines now! Just bring the saturation and intensity down a tiny bit and I think you'll be right there!
REDO 2
Hope this does the trick. Would like to get this one right. Thanks to all for the help.
Gary
I think it's beautiful Gary! You might also check the sharpness on the back feathers. They are nice as is but a touch more sharpening might make it even better so give it a look before you do the final print.
This is one gorgeous image! It's certainly worth the work.
Originally Posted by Julie Kenward
Julie, thanks for the help.
Gary
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