Red Shouldered Hawk

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

Hi All,

Shot this guy/gal in the Smoky Mountains. During a long road trip to see family, my wife and I made a quick stop in the Smokies with the intention of photographing deer or bears. Saw no bears and only 1 deer, but I did come upon this hawk that allowed me to stay with as it hunted. It finally landed on a perch that was fairly isolated and in some diffused, dappled light, which I handled the best I could. In post, I cropped a bit, ran a curves adjustment on the bird, and cloned out a few distracting limbs at the base of the perch. All C& C welcome.

_LWG8255
_LWG82551600×836 457 KB

Techs:
D850
500mm f/4, tripod/gimbal
ISO 640 (kept the ISO low so that I’d have as much dynamic range as possible, considering the dappled light)
1/640
f/5

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@feelingruby

2

I’m having trouble editing the post, but it looks like I left too much on the right. Here’s a re-crop.

_LWG8255
_LWG82551476×836 459 KB

3

A very nice pose and I like the way the dappled light worked with the head and shoulders in a sunny patch. The background works just fine. A very good image.

4

Hi Lyle
The cropping in the second shot, gives your photograph better balance. I like the backlighting, head turn and eye contact. Nice work.
Peter