About the Image(s)
I went to a wildlife reserve that is about an hour's drive from my home about a week or so ago.
This was my first time to this location and there are many species of birds at this reserve. This
bird, which I believe to be a red-tailed hawk, was just sitting on this post as I drove by. He
looked at me but did not seem to be in any hurry to leave, so I grabbed a number of shots of
him.
This was the first time I photographed birds in this kind of a setting and it seems many of my
photos this day were on the soft side. I am not sure whether that softness of the photos was
due to the equipment I was using or if it was due to something I was or wasn't doing with my
technique or camera settings. I thought the hawk in this photo was reasonably sharp and
thought I would get your opinions or suggestions on it. I did bring a tripod, but did not use it. A
longer lens would definitely be helpful (new toy idea for myself??) as I had to do a lot of
cropping. Overall, regardless of how the photos turned out, it was a fun day and I plan to visit
there again.
I shot this with my Fuji camera with a 55-200mm lens at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec at ISO 200. I
edited the photo in Affinity Photo which mainly consisted of cropping, contrast and color
adjustments. I also removed a metal pole that was distracting.
Jim Overfield
Randy, a really nice shot of this hawk with a nice country background. How lucky for you that he posed for you, with his best side towards you at that! The sunlight is an inviting warm glow that highlights the colors of the bird, and a great backround nicely. Significantly cropping an image will certainly impact sharpness but even so, I think your hawk, fence post and the grass at the base of the post, are pretty sharp. Improper Physical posture while hand holding a camera with a long lens can affect image quality. I also wouldn't hesitate to shoot at a faster shutter speed when hand holding a camera with a long lens, to help mitigate any movement while shooting. Your aperature setting produced a great background, and a one stop smaller setting might also result in a sharper image without compromise to the background quality. Your photo tells an appealing story, nice job Randy. Posted: 02/07/2025 20:09:58
Randy Bell
Thank you, Jim. I will go back out there and practice some more and even try different auto focus settings on my camera to see what works the best for these types of shots. Posted: 02/19/2025 04:25:10
Sylvia Williams
Nice shot! I like the background.
I tend to shoot birds wide open, which can lead to a softer body then I like. Posted: 02/09/2025 23:19:20
Randy Bell
Thank you, Sylvia. Posted: 02/19/2025 04:28:52
Yvonne Cary Carter
Randy, Nice hawk shot. He's so out in the open looks like he's guarding the reserve. I have not shot many birds so I can't offer any advice. Did you use a Fujifilm simulation? I've recently purchased a x pro 3 and have been experimenting. Posted: 02/12/2025 15:47:16
Randy Bell
Thanks, Yvonne. I do play with the film simulations sometimes. I have found some I like, Provia for most situations, Astia for portraits and Acros for black and white. I like having the photos look good straight out of the camera, instead of always having to post process them. There are websites that have all kinds of formulas for different looks to their photos. It is fun to experiment on how the photos can look. Posted: 02/19/2025 04:39:53
Yvonne Cary Carter
Straight out of the camera is the beauty of Fuji simulations. I'm going to get to know the default simulations before I try some of the recipes. I did download the Fuji X app with loads of choices. Posted: 02/19/2025 14:26:51
Sabine Nehls
Randy, Great that you have this wildlife reserve near you. You've managed a good portrait, the Red-tailed Hawk has the sharpness where it needs to be, in my opinion.
I cropped the image to bring the great portrait even more into focus without restricting the natural surroundings.
I also darkened the barbed wire and the fence post a little so as not to distract the eye. Maybe you like my suggestion.
Unfortunately, I can't give you any tips on bird photography.
Sylvia is much more experienced.
Posted: 02/15/2025 12:32:35
Sabine Nehls
Posted: 02/15/2025 12:33:00
Randy Bell
Thanks, Sabine. I like your crop and edits of the photo. You seem to have ideas on photos I don't consider. I appreciate that and try to learn from those ideas. I was hesitant to crop too much if I wanted to print any of them. Posted: 02/19/2025 04:57:42
Linda Mui
Randy, this is a beautifully captured shot of the hawk. My first impression is that it almost feels like he's the ruler of the wild, overseeing everything around him-it gives off such a majestic vibe. I think cropping a little from the right side and then cropping more from the left could help balance the composition and make the hawk stand out more. A vertical crop might be a good option here. It sounds like a longer lens would help with framing and detail, but this shot still looks great. The sharpness looks good to me, especially considering this was your first time photographing in this setting. It sounds like a fun experience, and I'm sure your next visit will yield even more great shots! Posted: 02/18/2025 11:13:14
Randy Bell
Thank you, Linda. I like the idea of cropping a little more and will play around with that and see what I can get. Posted: 02/19/2025 05:01:20
