In May of 2007 I wasn’t yet a “bird photographer”, I was only a wannabe.
I had a Canon 100-400 zoom lens that didn’t have enough reach for most birds, my photography skills were next to nonexistent, my bird portfolio had very little in it to be proud of and even though raptors were a prime photographic objective and had been for many months I still hadn’t been able to get any decent shots of them. They simply would not let me get close enough.
I was beginning to seriously doubt that bird photography was for me.
1/400, f/8, ISO 200, Canon Rebel XTi, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 380mm. not baited, set up or called in
But on May 7 of that year this Swainson’s Hawk changed everything. I’d spent the entire morning at Bear River MBR with typical results for me – lots of faraway photos of birds that I’d just delete when I got home. I’d been seriously whupped once again but a short distance from where I was to get on the freeway on my way home I spotted this bird on an old, weathered fencepost and decided to make one more attempt at getting close enough.
I fully expected failure but this time the bird stuck. Instantly I had buck fever and was shaking with excitement (not a good thing when you want sharp photos). The hawk cooperated for several minutes allowing me to get closer and closer until I was able to get a fair number of detailed photos that I actually liked.
If you look carefully my photography naiveté shows. My camera settings were far from ideal for the situation, I was shooting in jpeg rather than RAW and I wasn’t even zoomed all the way out to the 400mm capabilities of my lens, even though I thought I was and should have been. But when I looked at the photos on my screen and saw that the bird was sharp enough, I got the exposure right, I had pretty good detail and I liked the setting my heart literally pounded (I remember that clearly). I was excited for the entire hour-long drive home.
It isn’t being over-dramatic to say that this hawk changed my life. If it tells you anything, and it should, less than a month later I’d spent over $5000 on a Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM lens, $12OO on a quality carbon fiber tripod and another $400 on a 1.4 teleconverter.
Yes, it was an investment but it was a good one and since then it’s been a helluva ride.
Ron
Ron this post is such an inspiration to me. I’m at the place you were before taking this photo. To hear that you worked through the same frustrations and limitations to get to where you are today is so encouraging. Thanks for sharing the journey and showing the growth that comes from commitment, passion, practice and good equipment!
P.S. I’m pleased to hear your surgery went well. Best wishes for continued improvement and a speedy recovery.
So glad you encountered this beautiful bird. If you’d given up before I even got started photographing birds, I’d hate to think where I’d be. You’ve taught me so much!
Ron, you are your own worst critic. That shot looks so crisp to me. Although that hawk inspired you to drop some change, you are proving it was money well-spent!
You may not have called yourself a bird photographer, but you definitely were one at that time and this shot is a prime example! 🙂
LOVE IT!!!
Super shot and wonderful memories Ron!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
Great post! Nice photo! It gives me hope for improvement! Now just have to commit to a big lens!
Thanks, Joanne. It’s a big commitment but worth it if you’re serious about bird photography.
Lovely capture. Think there’s no better thing to have a passion for grabbing a camera and heading oust to captures – who’s knows.
Thank you, Linda.
What a gorgeous bird! I’d like to buy him a bike for setting you on this path so firmly. 🙂
I still think of this hawk when I drive by that spot on the approach road to the refuge, Arwen. Thanks.
hahahahahah Autocorrect got me. I typed VOLE but must have fat-fingered it.
Ron,
Trust me, I know the feeling. It is painful some days to come home and look at my shots. Unfortunately (or fortunately) you are my standard and you are a tough standard to live up to. I am thrilled when I occasionally (VERY occasionally) say, “I think that is as sharp as Ron’s.” I envy and curse you as I sit at my computer and thumb through my photos in Lightroom. After following your blog, reading all of your specs, and looking for those “hidden tips” and cryptic locations that you sometimes give I am happy to say that now “more than rarely” I get a good shot.
Love your blog, love your shots. KEEP DROPPING HINTS!
Thanks,
Stephen Clayson
Stephen, all bird photographers have those “painful days”, including me. But it sounds like your batting average is going up and not all bird photographers can make that claim. So many of them just… never… learn! Thanks for the very kind words.
Thank you, Mr. Hawk!
Big smile!
I guess we owe that bird a lot….I can appreciate seeing that first “good” photograph…it can definitely change ones life.(not to mention ones bank account)…I’m sure glad you “got into it” it has made my life a lot fuller…The great pictures and the ongoing lessons have taught me so much about birds and their behavior…. how to photograph them and how not to photograph them …I sometimes feel I should be paying you money….Thanks for sharing with all of us….. and I can see why looking at this photo could get you all excited….a.great shot..(even if it was in jpeg)….
Thanks very much, Steve.
I hate processing photos that were taken as jpegs but I’m sure glad I have some of them. I just wish I’d made the switch to RAW sooner than I did.
Wonderful shot, Ron. So thankful that you don’t give up easily! I really couldn’t imagine a life without Feathered Photography. I’ve learned so much from you and your followers over the years! Thanks again-
That means a lot, Diane. Thank you.
I get it completely and the quest goes on. I can’t tell you how many shots I have a birds in flight that I thought I had something only to find that I am disappointed when I look at the image on my screen and everything is soft because I wasn’t close enough. But when you get one and everything comes together (won’t list all the parameters) it gives you the incentive to go out and try again. An intoxicating potion that is addictive. I hope to get a fix this afternoon if the light is right! Selfishly, glad you got that shot of the Swainsons’ because who knows, if not, we might not be enjoying your blog!
“An intoxicating potion that is addictive”
That’s it in a nutshell, Frank.
And you’re right – if I hadn’t had success with this bird it’s very possible that I’d have given up on bird photography, never bought the 500mm lens and never started blogging.
I certainly have a feel for the excitement you felt! That is a terrific capture. What a beautiful bird in a perfect pose for you with a background that highlights him perfectly! 😍 Added note…I also know the setup you used back then…(my lens is the II version of that 100-400 and my camera is a Rebel T6s) so I understand those old frustrations you felt of creeping up on the birds only to have flight. 😫
Kathy, that XTi was my first digital SLR. It was cheap but it did a good job for me. When I bought the 500mm lens that tiny camera sure looked silly on the end of that big bazooka but I figured the birds didn’t mind and I didn’t care if other photographers snickered a little… 🙂
Darned if he/she doesn’t appear to be actually posing for you— it’s easy to see how excitement over this elegant posture, eye-light and even what appears to be eye-contact
would really start your engines ! I think it’s great that you share your “starting out” stories with your blog followers, as you’re now so accomplished in your craft that it’s good to
be reminded that such attainment involves overcoming an enormous amount of frustration, trial and error, not to mention $$$ investment in equipment…….
Kris, up until this bird I was really getting discouraged. Sometimes we just need just a little success after months of frustration to give us the motivation to go on and eventually succeed. That’s why I’ll always remember this hawk.
Beautiful shot Ron even if not up to your current standards! Know the feeling on birds being too far away etc. I was trying to capture a hawk on a deer across the creek the past 2 days with a Sigma 150-600 mm. Just a bit too far away and trying to brace on the truck met with limited success – amount of snow not workable for the tripod since we hadn’t been plowed out until yesterday afternoon – my “butt high” isn’t very high BUT! There there was the matter of a VERY dark hawk on white snow! Shots got better over time tho nothing to shout about…… 😉 Always good to backtrack and see for sure how far one has come with it. 🙂
“There there was the matter of a VERY dark hawk on white snow!”
Those kinds of exposures are tricky, to say the least. I had the same problem with yesterday’s post about a crow in snow. Thanks, Judy.