Sylvia Williams
November 2023 - Untitled
About the Image(s)
I was out with my daughter at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. I was not there to look for birds, this hawk found me.
Nikon d7500
Sigma 150-600mm
iso-250
f/6.3
1/2000 sec
This round’s discussion is now closed!
15 comments posted
Don't you just love it when they turn up like that? What kind of hawk is it?
I love the glint in the eye. Is this shot cropped? I find it a little soft when viewing large and wonder if it could be a bit sharper. Posted: 11/02/2023 20:58:07
I love the glint in the eye. Is this shot cropped? I find it a little soft when viewing large and wonder if it could be a bit sharper. Posted: 11/02/2023 20:58:07
It is cropped. And it is a larger lens for me - I think I took this hand-held Posted: 11/03/2023 15:28:34
A learning process all the time, isn't it? I remember when I first had my long lens, it took me 3 weeks to learn to hold it still enough - I kept thinking something was wrong with the lens! But these days, I get some good shots and some ok shots, it's a practice all the time type of thing, isn't it? Posted: 11/04/2023 20:40:22
Yes, I do need more practice. And I know that I NEED to use a tripod to hand hold my long lens - I typically don't shoot with it. I didn't think I had time to get my tripod set up. Posted: 11/06/2023 15:56:13
I don't even use a tripod - I find them cumbersome to carry around. But depends on how you manage the weight of your long lens. I have to remind myself to go out regularly, at least a couple of times a month with the big lens to keep being used to it. Posted: 11/06/2023 17:13:06
Hi Sylvia, nice shot of a hawk. I have to agree with Katie, the photo seems a bit soft to me, maybe you cropped it too tight. At full resolution it seems to be a bit noisy. Posted: 11/03/2023 04:24:27
I love "Topaz AI" for this types of photos. Topaz resized, denoised. and sharpened this image. Posted: 11/03/2023 10:31:54
I will have look at how I use Topaz. Mostly I just run my photo through Topaz photo AI on auto.
I do Sharpen AI as will. Did you do this all in one pass? or did you run it through topaz twice? Posted: 11/03/2023 15:32:53
I do Sharpen AI as will. Did you do this all in one pass? or did you run it through topaz twice? Posted: 11/03/2023 15:32:53
After Topaz does its first induration, I check the results and see if it just "enhanced" or denoised and or sharpened. If it did not and you think it needs more of the two, then you can turn those on and adjust the amount of the effect and it will go right into updating. Posted: 11/03/2023 15:51:46
Nice shot of the Red-shouldered Hawk. We have them along the American River. I like how it is keeping an eye you! :) I try to wait for them to fly but sometimes they stay still for a very long time! Posted: 11/03/2023 12:35:43
I have not mastered the birds in flight shots yet :)
Posted: 11/03/2023 15:33:29
Posted: 11/03/2023 15:33:29
I have not mastered birds in flight either, but it's fun trying! :) Posted: 11/03/2023 16:41:01
Definitely fun trying - it's my favourite form of bird photography and I'm always practising. Posted: 11/03/2023 16:50:22
(Groups 4 & 15 & 58 & 59 & 72)
Practice, practice, practice makes perfect !! Posted: 11/04/2023 11:55:40
Sylvia, I really like the composition of the bird and tree against the blue sky. The color and detail of both the bird and tree and the pose of the bird makes for a very interesting image. I agree with above comments regarding grain and sharpness, something that can be addressed in post-processing, but am impressed with the quality of your image taken from a hand-held position using a long lens, not an easy task. Very nice. Posted: 11/06/2023 14:32:13