I think this is the same hawk that I posted a week or so ago. Very unafraid of humans and vehicles. This is pretty much full frame. I had to shoot through some tall grasses to get this. He was very intently staring at the white car behind me…wasn’t worried about me.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any comments appreciated. Does the softness from the foreground grasses hurt the image? I think the camera focused on the back of the head so while the eye is pretty sharp, the beak isn’t. Does that detract?
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Fujifilm GFX 100, GF 250mm f/4 + 1.4, 1/100 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1250, beanbag on the car window…
Really difficult when there are grasses in the way. He still managed to get a pretty decent shot. The head looks really good although I would brighten up the eye a bit. There are some tricks; using a contrast brush to improve the look of the plumage that is slightly out of focus due to the grasses. Takes a lot of work though.
Nice job for the conditions, David. Keeping the head pretty much in the clear is excellent and I like the bold red tail. As David Schoen mentioned, there are some things you can do. If you use Lightroom, the local adjustment brush is wonderful for this kind of thing, you can apply some dehaze and a bit of tint adjustment both at once with it and tweak them after brushing to get the effect you want.
