Tomi Kelley
November 2025 - Red Tail Approach for Landing
About the Image(s)
Canon R3, Canon EF 100-400mm L IS II at 300mm
1/8000 sec, f/5.0, ISO 5000
I went with a group from a local camera shop to a falconry place an hour North of where I live. The staff of the falconry had many beautiful hawks, falcons, eagles and owls that they put on display for portraits or sent in flight for us to practice photographing birds in motion. It was good practice using the autofocus lock on bird’s eyes. Lots of changing light, avoiding people in backgrounds along with the usual challenges. I was happy with many results, including this shot. I may have let the ISO get away from me, but the R3 handled it fairly well. I like the wing flare and lighting on the tail. All birds had a transmitter that I chose to leave in the photo.
5 comments posted
Excellent capture. The exposure is balanced between the hawk and background with rich color and feather detail without blown highlights. The sharpness on the head and eyes is outstanding, and motion is frozen cleanly. The pose is dynamic; wings arched in mid-stroke with excellent light on the tail feathers. The warm, late-day tones give the image energy and warmth. The overall impact is strong - nice job. The issue I had was with the above said, there were a lot of distracting elements, which I tried to eliminate in my VF - nonetheless, you handled this very well and if bird shooting was new to you, wow - you captured the subject well Posted: 11/10/2025 03:51:27
Fantastic shot! I've tried to do similar but never got much. Love the upturned feathers and the background isn't bad for such an event. I do like Butch's simplification of the background though. Posted: 11/10/2025 10:20:56
Incredible timing and overall exposure! Very fast shutter speed to capture the wing tips so sharp! I do however find the body, legs and talons lack detail. I am sure it is in your image so you can can bright this area in Lightroom, ACR or photoshop. Well done!!! Posted: 11/10/2025 21:18:41
It is aa excellent shot. However, the distractions somewhat spoil the show. The shutter speed used has done a good job - freezing the motion. But I find that the colours of the main subject, the falcon, and the background colour are too near to each other on the 'colour wheel'. A green or blue background would have been better. the modified version of Butch seems better. Posted: 11/11/2025 09:38:25
Really great shot, the shutter speed stopped the motion and the bird is very sharp and a blurred background. Like Judith said, the upturned feathers add to the image. I like the back lighting that brightened the tail feathers. The background does not bother me, but Butch's VF helps the photogenic quality but would not be allowed in a nature category. Posted: 11/18/2025 14:58:30