A Study in Concentration - Adult Cooper's Hawk

[Terry Olmsted]

Taken just last evening (7PM Seattle time) near our bird feeders. Cloudy overcast
and nearly dark.

Canon 40D 400mm f5.6L 1/40s f5.6 ISO 1000 eval. metering ec 0 Tv
NR (neat image) and slight spot sharpening to compensate for nr loss of detail.
No tripod, but I was able to brace against the side of our deck.

[DanWalters]

Like the colors and the look he is giving. Maybe just a little brighter.

[Desmond Chan]

This reminds me of one fashion-type photographer who likes to do this, i.e., have the subject not looking at the camera or even have the subject look at the side with the less room. He said it created some kind of mystery in the photograph.

Like the sharpness and the details.

[Terry Olmsted]

Hi Dan and Desmond. Thanks for commenting!
Dan, I have to agree - I should have raised the brightness a bit more.
Desmond, I chose this pose because the hawk was eyeballing his target so intensely. I
notice that when they are looking directly at the camera, they look so innocent (which
they aren't) :)
Thanks again for your comments - they are most helpful.
Terry

[Dave Leroy]

Really nice photo.

I like the inclusion of the bit of habitat and the interesting pose.

If mine I would do a bit of work brightening up the photo a bit and adding some contrast/curves work for a bit more pop.

Nice and sharp and lots of detail especially at 1/40 and no tripod. Good dof.

Dave

[Terry Olmsted]

Thanks for the helpful comment, Dave. I agree, I'll spend some more time and see what I can do to bring out the image.
Terry

[Melissa Groo]

I really like this pose and the clarity. I think working in Contrast or Curves a bit to make it pop a bit more, as Dave pointed out, would really improve it too. Would love to see the repost if you do so.

[Terry Olmsted]

I worked a bit on the brightness/contrast levels - this is what I came up with.
Thanks for your comments!
Terry

[Brendan Dozier]

Great looking Cooper's Hawk, Terry. Repost looks good, FG & BG work well and provide good contrast. Nice work!

[arash_hazeghi]

nice pose but detail loss due to noise is very evident, the head in particular shows artifacts. looks like light was low and there wasn't much you could do

[Terry Olmsted]

Thanks for the comments, Brendan and Arash.
Terry