The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Pantanal, Brazil
Brazil is full of wonderfully-named birds with very descriptive and colourful monikers. This is not one of them.
This is a very common “Roadside Hawk” (it’s real name) who nicely cooperated by flying into an Ipe tree, which produces gorgeous pink blooms for 10-14 days a year, and began our first day there.
Edit: this is actually a CRANE HAWK - thanks, Max!
Specific Feedback
all comments and suggestions most welcome
Technical Details
a huge crop
Sony A1
200-600 + TC1.4
File Name: H:\A 4 Brazil\AAAABrazil\Birds.Misc\RB_06883.ARW
Date Taken: 2024-08-09 15:48:24
Exposure Time: 1/2000 sec
F Number: f/8
ISO Speed Ratings: ISO 8000
Exposure Program: Manual
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Long, OOF branch removed from foreground
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
What a beautiful, stand-out shot, Sandy. My only very minor quibble is with the front of the bird’s head. which seems to have picked up some pink - but this might just be reflected from those amazing blooms. You must have gasped when you saw this.
@Mike_Friel
Thanks, Mike - I think it is a reflection - nontheless, corrected and re-posted. Yes, the guides were screaming, and we were all tripping over each other to get our long lenses and get TC’s on.
What a beautiful bird, and a terrific image it is. I was just wondering if you had enough time when photographing this scene to maybe changing your position to eliminate the bit of the tree directly behind the bird’s head. I know it is not always possible, but it would have been nice to have that area just above and framing the bird.
It takes my eyes a few seconds to get past all that gorgeous pink to the hawk, Sandy, but it’s a very cool image. The tree has a ton of character and the hawk is a nice focal point.
Ted, we were pretty confined to a small area between bushes when shooting another nearby tiny bird, and I guess no one thought to move. I guess I could clone out around the head…
Hi Sandy, fascinating, dream-like image with the pink blooms providing a wonderful backdrop for the hawk. Nice pose and details on the bird. Well done.
Sandy, first it’s important to note that I think you have a Crane Hawk here. Much cooler than the Roadside, given their predatory ability to dig into cavities with their double-jointed legs. It’s one of my favorite raptors in the Pantanal.
The color is lovely, but I can’t help but pause at the way the hawk and branch are presented against the background. Perhaps it’s that the scene appears too flat on my screen, but it has a “cut and paste” look to it that makes it look more illustrative than photographic. This, of course, could be your desired goal, but I wonder how a slight bump in contrast would change the feel of it.
@Max_Waugh
Hi, Max - I think you may be right! (Hope so, since it’s much less common) One guide thought it was a Crane, the other a Roadside. I’m still a little confused, since I thought the Cranes have all-black beaks, while the roadside has yellow and black. Most images online of the Crane show a red eye, while the Roadside’s is bright yellow.
Thanks for the suggestion of more contrast - I’ll try that, although I was looking for more of an ethereal, dreamy effect.
Much Appreciated!
The repost is a significant improvement, Sandy. Very well done. Interesting discussion on the species. It doesn’t match the images of either species in my Costa Rica guide books very well but there could be regional variations.
After much discussion with one of our guides, and a careful search of the web, I believe Max is right - in the more Southern areas of Brazil, the Crane hawk can have yellow eye like the Roadsides. I’m very happy it’s not the much more common Roadside.
Every Crane Hawk I’ve seen has a yellow/pale eye. More importantly, the body shape is different… longer than the Roadside in just about every respect, especially the long red legs (great for reaching into holes!).
