Galapagos Hawk with Prey

Gallery: AvianPosted January 9, 2012134 views6 comments

Taken today.

I'm not really a raptor person. Songbirds attract me personally, and I simply content myself to enjoy the work of the talented raptor photographers on this site.

But for goodness sakes if a Galapagos Hawk is going to land in front of me on a beautiful piece of driftwood with his freshly picked Marine Iguana, I guess I might as well get a few shots in.

Canon 7D
300mm f4 w/ 1.4 TC
f 6.3
1/2000 s.
ISO 640

This is only cropped a tiny bit to straighten the horizon. Should I crop more? I just hate to lose much of the wood.

All C&C appreciated. Always trying to improve. I've come a long way already thanks to everyone on NPN who offers advice. (Thank you!)

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on January 10, 2012 at 4:40 AM

Rebecka this is a very striking image, IMO. Any raptor with pray draws great interest, and this image certainly fits nicely into that category. The driftwood is a neat perch, there is good detail, and the hawk's pose is very dominant. I think the only thing missing here is catchlight in the hawk's eye. Still, a very neat capture, congrats.

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on January 10, 2012 at 7:48 AM

Rebecka, A fine image IMHO. I like the composition of the photo and the perch the hawk is on, makes for a nicely balanced photo. I think if the hawks' head was just a bit more towards the camera it would be better, and in the large photo it does appear to be just a little soft. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on January 10, 2012 at 11:02 AM

Nice pose with prey. I agree that the driftwood is an interesting perch but the light is a little harsh and the brightness and contrast of the driftwood is a little overpowering. I also think the hawk is a little soft.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on January 11, 2012 at 1:02 AM

Hope you are enjoying the Galapagos as much as I did. Wonderful nature photography destination. Good work getting the shot. Looks like you were working with the harsh, mid-day light but I think you managed pretty well. I might try using the Shadow/Highlight tool (assuming you are using PS) and see about pulling the highlights down.

And I see you have my trick of photographing thoroughly banded birds down....

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on January 14, 2012 at 9:15 PM

Hi Rebecka,
As a raptor person, I`m a bit envious of this fine shot, but I`m glad a friend took it. Great to get this bird with a marine iguana, interesting prey! The driftwood is great but for web presentation I would probably crop a bit more from the left, can I ask which island you took this on? I hope you have or had a great trip!

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Rebecka on January 16, 2012 at 11:13 PM

Nate, if you would have been there, you would have gotten a much better shot!

I believe this was on Rabida -- will check my files. (I saved each card to the island I was on.)

Registered on February 5, 2009, 170 Posts, 924 Comments