Fresh Catch

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
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Fresh Catch
Fresh Catch1500×1200 446 KB

This Cooper’s Hawk is enjoying a bird he caught in my yard. I don’t know what kind of bird, but know it was a bird by the feathers that flew as he plucked them. I had to work around to get a clear shot of him, but he paid little attention to me maneuvering below him as he enjoyed his meal.

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Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Canon 60D, Canon 70-300mm IS USM Zoom @ 180mm, f/5.6, 1/6000 sec., ISO 1600. Processed in ACR and PSE 2020 for exposure and cropping, Topaz De-noise applied.

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So wonderful to get images like this from your yard, Terry. Nicely done. I like the intensity of the eye.

3

A good capture Terry, the exposure against the sky is never easy. The tree branch does dominate a bit, maybe tighten the crop at the bottom and sides of the frame.

4

Always nice to catch action like this. You are very fortunate in your neck of the woods to have so much wildlife. This was a tough exposure and I don’t know if you can decrease some of the highlights and increase the contrast on the whole bird. I might also cut back a little on the red saturation. But I would be happy with this one.

5

Hi Terry
The shot was worth the effort. Great head and eye contact.
Peter

6

I guess the hawk was only willing to share a photo for you. I think you did well with difficult lighting and shadows…Jim

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@Jim_Zablotny @David_Bostock @peter @David_Schoen @Ryan_H Thanks, guys for all your comments and suggestions.

8

Excellent job getting a mostly clear view, Terry. The focus looks very good, but I think you could bring down the brightness on the sunlit parts of the hawk just a bit as it looks slightly washed out.

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9

You have created your own wildlife preserve, and do credit to the creatures there! If you haven’t already, you might try pushing the Highlights slider down a bit more. Hard to know what it can do as the lighting was obviously challenging.

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