Cooper's Hawk

Gallery: AvianPosted July 17, 2012115 views9 comments

Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

Place: Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, AZ
Date: July 10, 2012, 7:57 am
Equipment: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 300/2.8 & TC20E III (2x), Gitzo 1325, RRS BH-55, sidekick
ISO 1600, aperture priority spot metered, 1/160th @ f/8
Raw, PS CS3 on Mac, 78% of frame
Not set up, not baited, no cloning, no noise reduction

Taken on the same visit as my previous post of a Black Phoebe, 4 days later than my recent post of the juvie Cooper's Hawk being fed by an adult at the same location at Boyce Thompson Arboretum.

Again, I decided not to mess around with a flash and just rely on my sturdy tripod. I went to ISO 1600 for this in order to keep the shutter speed reasonable – as always nature photography requires careful juggling of the parameters to capture capture the subject while maintaining decent image quality.

Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated.

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on July 17, 2012 at 6:18 PM

Super comp Rich. So, much to take in on this shot. I love it. One of my favs of yours.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Randy Bacon on July 17, 2012 at 9:58 PM

Love the setting Richard and a nice over the shoulder pose. While I like this image a lot, I do find myself wishing for just a little more light on the subject. that being said, I congratulate you on a fine Cooper's image - all I have are tail feathers and small specs on a blue sky - well done.

Registered on November 24, 2008, 56 Posts, 492 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on July 17, 2012 at 11:38 PM

Rich, I love the perch and interesting veg, but the cut off tail and branch across the face both detract for me.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hansen on July 18, 2012 at 12:33 AM

Unusual and interesting shot. The esthetic quality of the foliage seems to enhance the main subject, though it would seem preferable it not be in front of the bird's face. I've yet to have much luck with ISO 1600 on my D300, but you've done a great job with it here. This is essentially noiseless, great DR, and nice color.

Registered on May 5, 2011, 161 Posts, 908 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 18, 2012 at 10:07 AM

Beautiful, Richard. I really like the foreground foliage-what is it? It does a great job of framing the hawk. Noise control is excellent for that ISO.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on July 19, 2012 at 1:11 AM

Nice shot, I like the habitat. Excellent at ISO 1600.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Bunn Martin on July 20, 2012 at 8:43 PM

Wow. Love it. The face and lower tail feathers are non issues foe me. I would crop from the left slightly.

Registered on September 17, 2011, 38 Posts, 167 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on July 21, 2012 at 5:36 PM

I really like the framing and the habitat in the image. Composition is also very good. But I find the oof branch over the hawk's eye somewhat distracting.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on April 25, 2013 at 9:19 AM

I like this setting a lot Rich. Works well with the clear view of the eye & most the body..
Very good quality @ ISO 1600, hard to believe no NR. Just comparing this to my 1D M3, it seems better.
Hate to admit it though

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments