Mike Patterson
November 2023 - Hawk, Northern New Mexico
About the Image(s)
I recently returned from a trip to New Mexico where I had an opportunity to take a back road from Taos into southern Colorado. I spotted this, I think, Harrier Hawk on a telephone pole in the middle of nowhere. This is a typical scene along these roads. The hawks love to sit on these poles to see what they might grab in the grasses below. Shot with a Canon 7D and a 70-300 mm lens. I had an f8 setting at 1/1250 second. I had to handhold the camera because you ordinarily don't have time to pull out a tripod before these birds take flight. Cropping, minor light and color adjustments and sharpening in Lightroom.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
6 comments posted
Mike, nice image of the Hawk sitting in this electrical pole, but I think that the pole and all the steel structures on the top, overpowers the bird. To my eye, this crop makes the bird stand out better, without taking away the interest of the pole. The image is sharp, and the colors are well balanced. I also added a touch of light to te shadowed side of the bird to bring out color and detail. Posted: 11/02/2023 13:28:20
Mike, I love hawks. Beautiful. I find the metal a bit bright and you can tone that down, and you can also clone out the upper right or crop tighter, so as to get that wire out of the picture. You handled the harsh lighting well on the hawk. Posted: 11/02/2023 13:28:37
Mike,
The image is sharp and shows how the hawks have adapted to human structures. I think you could crop closer to make the bird as the subject of this photo and yet keep the environment. I would even crop closer than Isaac's crop. Posted: 11/02/2023 16:00:40
The image is sharp and shows how the hawks have adapted to human structures. I think you could crop closer to make the bird as the subject of this photo and yet keep the environment. I would even crop closer than Isaac's crop. Posted: 11/02/2023 16:00:40
Mike, you have excellent detail. At your settings, a tripod is not necessary. I had another idea with the crop. I also used Camera Raw Filter to reduce the shadows and reduce the highlights. Let me know what you think. Jim Posted: 11/03/2023 09:45:14
(Groups 21 & 94)
I believe you have a red-tailed hawk there. I agree, it needs cropping. Too much attention on the pole. Posted: 11/26/2023 11:03:46
Went for a real tight crop. Posted: 11/26/2023 18:47:58