Sharp-Shinned Hawk

Gallery: AvianPosted December 23, 2013164 views7 comments

An old one from May 3rd. I posted a different pose from this session on May 5th, but I went back the other day and worked on some of the other poses to see how they'd work out. I found it interesting how differently I interpreted the mood/personality of the bird in different poses, largely dependent on where the bird was looking.

1Div, 500mm f4 ISL + 1.4TC, Black Widow on RRS legs, f5.6, 1/4000, iso 1000, Av mode with -2/3 compensation (I had just been shooting Goldfinches when this bird landed on a log feeder at point blank range). Processed in ACR to bring out the shadows a trifle. Otherwise normal processing in CS6. Cropped to 10.7MP. Taken in my back yard on May 3rd at 7:16 pm.

Your comments are always appreciated.

Thanks for looking,

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on December 23, 2013 at 7:51 PM

I like the sharply contrasting late light & shadow in this one Dennis.
It's the light on the hawks face/eye that makes it all work IMO..
Great shot!

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

Comment posted by Mark Jenkins on December 23, 2013 at 9:04 PM

Dennis, nice pose, great BG, wonderful light on face as Howard said and nice feather detail. Excellent photo IMO. Love the red eye.

Registered on April 20, 2008, 307 Posts, 604 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on December 23, 2013 at 11:54 PM

Love the pose, perch and always love the red eyes on this species. nice work Dennis. I do think the shadows can be brought up a bit more though for more detail and without loosing the mood or natural look.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Sandy Scott on December 24, 2013 at 7:42 AM

Great shot Dennis, I love the lighting - especially the way it plays around the area of the beak, face and eye. The lighting of the leg and tuft of contrasting plumage above the leg adds to the wonderful effect!

Registered on December 6, 2013, 85 Posts, 345 Comments

Comment posted by John Robinson on December 24, 2013 at 3:58 PM

Good looking shot. I wondered too if you could lift the shadows a bit without killing the original effect.Only a teeny bit mind. maybe my monitor.
Cheers
JR

Registered on March 2, 2008, 535 Posts, 2453 Comments

Comment posted by keith mitchell on December 24, 2013 at 4:17 PM

Dennis I like the way you have caught this hawk, think the light and the shady area under the breast really work for me, think Howard below as covered my thoughts, like it a lot.

Keith.

Registered on July 12, 2008, 127 Posts, 1735 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on December 27, 2013 at 10:23 AM

Contrasty light which some fill flash would have helped with but the eye stands out nicely and makes the shot for me Dennis

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