Red-Tailed Hawk Take-off

[Dennis_Plank]

David Schoen, Dan Kearl and I spent the day at Ridgefield yesterday. The Kestrel didn’t put in an appearance this time, but there was one whacky Red-tailed Hawk that was hanging out on the posts and signs along the road. This take-off was from one of the “Area Closed” signs. I’m not sure how well it works without the perch. I processed it with the perch and a slightly different composition, so I’ll tack that on for comparison.

Without perch:

With Perch:

What technical feedback would you like if any?

How’s the removal of the sign?

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Which composition seems to work best to you? Oddly, I don’t recall doing any global processing after removing the sign, but I do notice a significant difference in the hawk between the two versions-which do you prefer?

Any pertinent technical details:

7DII, Sigma 150-600 C @ 157 mm, hand held, f/8, 1/1000, iso 800, manual exposure. Processing in LR & PS CC. I applied some mid tone adjustments to the hawk.

You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.

[Dan_Kearl]

I would not have shown the sign photo at all…Cool pose, glad you nailed it. It works fine without the sign, not sure anyone would have known…
Nice day, lets do again.

[David_Schoen]

Superb detail and wing position. The motion blur of the wing tips works well. I also prefer without the sign.

[Terri_Barnett (Terri L Barnett)]

Definitely without the sign. Nice wing spread and detail.

[David_Schoen]

Despite preference for the image without the sign, the honest thing to do is include it, as you have or mention that it was cloned out.

[Allen_Sparks]

Nice catch of the take off - a fine pose. Another vote for removing the sign.

[Jim_Zablotny]

Hi Dennis,

I like the version without the sign. A very nice pose and I hope that you print this one out. Well done and deserving a beer ……….Jim

[Jenaya_Launstein]

Really nice photo. Love the wing curls at the tips. I prefer the version without the sign.