I saw this guy this morning and thought it might be a chance to at least prove I’m still alive. S(he) sometimes hangs out in this tree, well uphill from our house. It’s about 100 ft away and if I get closer the view is even steeper. I keep hoping to get him as he starts to fly, but he’s faster than I am, and more patient.
Specific Feedback Requested
All comments welcome!
Technical Details
Shadow adjustment in LR, and about a 50% crop. Into PS for very minor cloning on edges. Did NR and sharpening but it was only at about a 2-pixel resolution – not enough to show here.
Amazing find @Diane_Miller That is a excellent find. The subject came out sharper, was the lens stopped down. I wasn’t sure what tbe f/stop was with the 2x extension. I am thinking about getting this lens. Again fantastic photo
Fantastic shot, Diane! I love the lichens on the branches. It adds to the uniqueness of the image. I also love the pose of this beautiful hawk and sharpness is spot on. Nice job on the eye too. Just wonderful!
Thanks, @Dean_Salman, @Paul_Breitkreuz and @Donna_Callais! Dean, that’s wide open with the 2X. But I’ve rarely minded the loss of speed, with the NR software we have these days. The lens is fantastic and mine just about lives with the 2X on it.
Outstanding shot, Diane. I am curious, and a bit jealous, do you handhold your RF100-500 with the 2X? My hands just don’t seem to have it in me any more , Great capture.
I’ve had a similar experience; I haven’t been around much, but I’ve had a Cooper’s Hawk hanging around which I got a few shots of I’ll post later. Anyway, nicely done here. Nice environment, and the hawk is nicely captured. Like @linda_mellor, I wonder if this is hand held?
Thanks, @linda_mellor and @terryb. I was on a tripod, just setting up for a plan to to wait it out long enough to be able to catch it in the first split-seconds as it flew. After this initial shot I increased the ISO and SS for that plan, and zoomed back a little. But it sat there for a long time and waited until the instant I decided to tweak the composition slightly, and took off!
The lens is hand-holdable at 1000mm at a high enough ss, and for a while, but a tree-pod helps if there is one handy. I’m one of those 3/4 scale people, at 5 ft and 120 lb, and not muscular, but motivation helps!
@Dean_Salman, I neglected to say (but you probably know) that with the 2X it is only f/14 at 1000 or close to it. At 600mm it is f/11. With either TC you can’t turn the lens below the 300mm mark, due to their protruding front elements. That makes it something of a PIA to put the TCs on but the tension ring for zoom holds it well enough.
Very nice! What a perfect spot for it to pose. The details and colour and branch complement the bird so well. Were you able to auto focus, or is this manual focus because of the branches in front? I struggle with getting manual focus actually in focus.
It has all the qualities a photographer could ask for.
That nice coat of lichen on the tree is bonus material.
Maybe next time you can get the departure shot you were hoping for.
Thanks, @Robena.Sirett and @Merv! I’ll keep trying – the tree is in view from the house and seems to be a fairly regular hangout.
Robena, the camera has amazing AF, down to a very small point. But if I’m handholding, keeping the point on the subject can be a struggle. Eye AF is amazing but in this case the head is so dark and he kept turning his head that I didn’t try for it. I just used point focus on the head. I’m usually able to get accurate manual focus with that lens (good feel on the focus ring), but if I get desperate I can zoom the viewfinder. That’s easier done on a tripod. Back button focus is valuable, as I can focus then recompose and shoot. Keep practicing – you have good options with that camera and lens.
Very nice head turn and detail and I like the perch/setting. Well composed. I’m still in awe of the eye autofocus on the R5 and I bet it would have found the eye.
@Robena.Sirett, you’re welcome! BTW, do you know about the diopter adjustment on the viewfinder? A tiny knurled knob on the right. If it’s not well-matched to your vision you’re not able to easily judge the best focus.
Thanks, @Kris_Smith – I needed a nudge to get away from busy-stuff and back behind a camera.
Echoing what everyone else said - great shot, wonderful focus, and I too love the surrounding branches with the lichen on them. I don’t spend much time on NPN - although I do try, but so many other things take priority. I could spend hours looking at everyone’s photos and commenting, but then nothing else would get done. I always appreciate when people comment on my photos, and so even though it was all already said, I wanted to chime in with my 2 cents about your beautiful capture!
, Great capture.