Kevin comments are spot on, otherwise the picture is much stronger. It is always fun to get BIF images and a hawk to boot - well done. Do you have any more from Yellowstone - great venue for nature photography. There are exceptions but generally a well lit eye and sharp detail are critical elements of good bird photography.
Greetings. Thanks much for the comments. Jeff, had a great time in Yellowstone but it reminded me that in terms of nature photography I do better if I can return to a specific place many times (takes me a while to understand a location - where they fly where they sit where's the sun where can I be) ... which was largely impossible on the kind of visit our family had. Glad I got this shot even with the flaws...
very sharp for a HH 600, but have to agree with the above on the shadow. Eye also looks like some of mine do when I try too hard to lighten them with Fill flash, etc.
This was our third trip in the past 6 years... twice in summer and once in the winter. The issue with the traffic can be dealt with by getting up early... most of the tourists get up, get breakfast and get out around 10. If you're up and out at 6-7 you have very little competition for the roads or the trails. Of course, this suits the photographer's and nature viewer's purposes just fine. Yellowstone is quite uncrowded in the winter, though of course it is a lot harder to get around & it is pretty cold, not to mention it can be overcast for long stretches. We were blessed with several sunny days, but were told it wasn't the norm. Winter in Yellowstone is pretty magical. Watching Old Faithful when we were the only ones there in sunlight when it was 0 degrees out is quite spectacular. The geysers in the cold just seem more explosive. And the animals are just everywhere (the wintering ones, anyway).
I highly recommend classes or in particular arranging a private tour with the Yellowstone Institute. Well, worth the money.
Swainson's Hawk
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