Red-tailed Hawk – A Cliff Takeoff

Photographing these hawks against the cliff background was both challenging and frustrating.

 

1/1250/ f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in

Late last March I spent some time with a pair of Red-tailed Hawks while they were refurbishing an old nest on the side of a vertical cliff. The rocks behind the nest were about the same color as the hawks so the birds often didn’t stand out very well against the similar background. In addition the rocks were so close to the nest that the background tended to be almost as sharp as the birds which compounded the problem (a soft, blurred background tends to isolate the subject and set it apart).

I like this image better than most I took at the nest because two factors helped to mitigate the problem of isolating the bird against the background:

  • The hawk took off at an angle slightly toward me so it’s further away from the cliff than it was while on the nest. Since I was lucky enough to keep my focus locked on the bird with the background that close (not an easy task) the hawk was a little sharper than the rocks from the get-go
  • Instead of sharpening the entire image during processing (global sharpening) I sharpened just the bird by masking it first (selective sharpening). Doing so increased the sharpening contrast between hawk and background and helped it to stand out even more

I still have the problem of mostly similar colors throughout the photo (plus a busy background) but for me the completely natural setting more than compensates for those issues. I love the “wildness” of the image since there isn’t even a hint of the hand of man to be seen.

Ron

 

 

17 Comments

  1. OK, so I THOUGHT I fixed my email program, but I thought wrong. I’ve probably thought wrong again, but I’m sorta back. And the timing! Missing a lovely redtail hawk is just not fair, but goes to prove that computers HATE me!!
    That said, with the computer acting up, I went outside and caught a mating flight between the two local redtails. So, I guess that made up for missing this. Mating flights are probably THE most erotic thing I’ve ever seen! It’s that time here 😉

  2. Fabulous flight shot Ron!
    Charlotte

  3. A beautiful shot!I love all the background stuff in this photo – it shows how the bird blends into his rugged background. I appreciate the photography tips too.

  4. Lovely. Simply lovely. (Sigh) 🙂 I hope momma and daddy hawk reuse this nest site. I’d love to see another set of babies.

    (My new foster babies are going to be big, I think. Three of them were already over a pound at 2 days old and the other two were almost there.)

  5. Ron, the coloring on this bird is quite beautiful. As Judy points out, the lighter colors on the underside of the wing and body, help the bird to stand out against the colors of the cliff.

    It is remarkable how this hawk spends so much time and effort to find a location for the nest and then builds it. Those baby birds, like us in many cases, have no idea how much effort their parents went through to raise us. I’m sure it is easier for those of you who have grandchildren, I don’t.

    Thank you, Ron

  6. Ron Just what I love as well. Not a trace of meddling man/woman in the frame. And the bird is glorious Thank you. Diana

  7. Wonderful camouflage for the hawk even if not the greatest for photographing it! 🙂 If the white on the underside of it’s left wing didn’t “stick out” it would be hard to tell it was there…….. Great capture, Ron….:)

    • Yes, that white in the wing really helps our eye to visually isolate the hawk, Judy. It doesn’t solve the problem but it helps. With birds the “cryptic factor” is effective for them but it often frustrates the photographer… 🙂

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