It goes without saying that light angle, intensity and warmth can have huge effects on an image, both positive and negative. I thought it might be interesting to see the effects of different types of light on the same species – in this case, Swainson’s Hawks.
1/160, f/6.3, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in
Here, the sun was low and the light warm. The light was directional (side lighting the bird) but it worked pretty well because the darker parts of the bird are in the direct light. The head angle is just right for this pose – if the head were angled any more toward me I’d have lost the catch light and light on the face. If it were turned any more away from me I’d have lost good eye contact.
1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in
Like in the previous image, this hawk is side lit. The difference is that the bird has its light, creamy colored belly facing the sun so the whites, though they’re not blown out, are a tad too bright and lacking detail.
1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in
I took this image a little later in the morning, so the light wasn’t so warm and at that angle enough of it is reflecting up from the ground to give me sufficient detail in the shaded, dark brown plumage under the bird. And there’s still plenty of detail in the whites.
1/800, f/6.3, ISO 800, 500 f/4, natural light, not baited, set up or called in
Because of menacing storm clouds moving in there was very little light when this was taken, which gives the image a very different “feel” that doesn’t appeal to everyone. I had to crank up the ISO of my 7D to 800, which usually produces some noticeable noise so I had to use noise reduction on the background. And since I wasn’t using a tripod I knew that many of my images of this bird wouldn’t be very sharp so I rattled off quite a few shots in hopes of getting some that were acceptable.
I hope you’ll forgive a little “photo geekiness” on a Saturday morning but I just couldn’t resist a post on the effects of light.
Ron
I saw a raptor this morning on my way to work. I think that it was a Swainson Hawk however, I am in NC and this Hawk was huge. It was just as big if not bigger than a Red Tail Hawk. Theses are some nice pictures you took. Thanks for the detail.
The hawk in flight is spectacular, you are a rare talent with the camera!
You’re gonna make me blush, Tana. Thank you!
In that last shot, the birds plumage is almost purple. It is amazing the difference light makes. That said, I loved them all.
That shot is, I think, of a different bird. Looks like a dark morph (or ‘phase’ of ‘form’) Swainson’s, the other two are of a regular morph. Buteos like Swainson’s have about 5-10% of the population genetically much darker than the others; some are much lighter. Makes for interesting variations!
Yes, that bird is different bird than the first three but I also think there’s a bit of a color cast to the image (from the very low light) that gives it the sliglty odd color noticed by Elephant’s Child.
When were these shots taken, Ron? Just curious, because if they are recent, these birds should be at least halfway to Argentina! Louise
Sorry Louise, I should have mentioned when they were taken. No, they’re not recent – they’re shots from the summer, mostly in SW Montana.