Poised for takeoff

Another from the Lake Pleasant birding by boat extravaganza with Ted & Diane. This is the same red-tailed hawk as in Diane’s beautiful portrait. The three of us were shooting like mad, but since all mirrorless, the noise was pretty minimal and I think that’s partly why it put up with us for so long. No mirrors flapping away.

Anyway…I got lucky with this shot, but I’m still not 100% happy with it. See below.

Specific Feedback Requested

Again, the shutter speed. I should be more mindful of it when I’m doing wildlife stuff. So the focus wasn’t as crisp as it could have been and I ran it through Topaz Sharpen, but I don’t know if it’s overdone. I can always run it again, but since the latest version is being a giant PITA by constantly shutting down, I don’t feel like messing with it now. If the sharpening is unacceptable, I can run it again when the software cooperates.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Handheld w/animal detection & continuous autofocus
Boat fairly stable as it had run aground

image

Topaz Sharpen to begin with then Lightroom for a biggish 4:5 crop and global adjustments to exposure, white & black points, clarity & texture. Increased blue luminosity so the sky didn’t look blocked up. Photoshop to make a big branch into a small one. Also did some dodging & burning on the bird itself to contour the shadows and plumage.

@the.wire.smith
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Well, it looks bloody excellent to me!! The ss was on thin ice but it was enough here. It’s almost impossible luck, both with ss and DOF to get both wingtips sharp in any flight or action shot. If there is a catchlight it’s usually the best indication of stopping the action. The one here looks just slightly elongated but I don’t see any blurring in feather detail. Tonal details and color look great!

Did you get a few more frames after this?

Thanks @Diane_Miller - I guess I’m too critical. I did get one more frame, but it’s softer still and I haven’t processed it. If it was sharp it would be killer.

Ok, you made me curious. This is the next shot after this one - rescued by Topaz Sharpen AI - if I don’t attempt to do any masking with it, it works, but I really wish could have.

You may notice I made some sticks go away and I also added some canvas directly above since it was so close to the top.

Both shots are just a smidgeon off in focus as per eye catch. Topaz sharpen helps, but when the focus is dead on, there’s no need for additional sharpening…and I say this from missing that same fine eye focus more than I’ve gotten it. Nice action shots, though.

This is a fine catch! From the elongated catchlight, it looks like there was some motion blur more than missed focus. But other than the eye, I don’t see noticeable blur or softness. Some of the sharpening filters claim to correct motion blur, but I’ve not had any success with it.

I got 2 frames just after this, both flawed. I’ll post them for comparison.

Thanks @Diane_Miller - yeah, it seems like motion blur to me more than anything and I sometimes get good results using the Motion Blur algorithm in Topaz Sharpen, but sometimes it just looks too strange so I go with something else.

@chris10 - yeah, birds just won’t sit still for anything. I disagree about the no need for additional sharpening if you got it crisp, Topaz products do an amazing job at teasing out details that Lr and Ps don’t do as well or can’t. It isn’t necessary on every shot and I don’t use it on everything, but it can improve an already good shot as well as make a slightly soft shot better. As always, YMMV. :grin:

Really dynamic pose here on the first image. Considering the situation, you did a good job with the processing on both images. I think the sharpness is more than acceptable on the second image. The in-flight pose is superb.