Audio Tour, Station 12: Red-tailed Hawk

I’ve actually never downloaded the audio tour for Ridgefield NWR, but I can imagine it talking about finding Red-tailed Hawks in this area. The weird shield over number was installed last year to discourage birds from perching and pooping on the numbers. I do have some fun shots when this hawk lost its balance and was flapping like crazy until it got a new grip. David Schoen and Dan Kearl were both along on this trip. It was a fun day.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

A bit of cleanup to remove some Out of focus grass stems I didn’t like-any artifacts from that?

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

This is full frame-any issues with the composition. I’m usually not fond of full-height verticals in the 2x3 format, but this one seemed to work. I know the post is badly slanted, but that’s the way it was, if I recall correctly and it makes the hawk upright.

Any pertinent technical details:

7DII, Sigma 150-600 C @ 531 mm, hand held from car window, f/8, 1/2000, iso 800 (lots of light most of the day yesterday), manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Taken yesterday at 3:00 pm.

You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.

Nice capture, Dennis. Great detail in his feathers, and nice complimentary background. I am sure you had a great time with David and Dan. I always enjoy getting out with other photographers. I think the composition works well.

Nice capture and BG story.
Sandy