This photo from yesterday quickly became a favorite of mine as soon as I saw it on my big screen.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Yesterday morning I was finally able to go out shooting again after being stuck at home for far too long for a variety of reasons. I managed to get quite a few photos I like but this one was my favorite.
While the adult Red-tailed Hawk was perched atop a juniper tree ‘she’ was mostly hidden and a little too far away for quality perched shots. But she was in an attractive setting so I hung around and waited for takeoff in hopes of getting some flight shots with her outstretched wings filling more of the frame. I managed to get several interesting photos as she took off into the north wind but for me this one stood out.
I like nearly everything about it including the flight posture, the mottled background and the attractive juniper anchoring the hawk at the bottom of the frame. The light on the bird is just about perfect, she turned her head slightly in my direction and she’s even sharp. If I had to pick a nit or two it would be wishing I’d been just a little closer to her and that I had slightly more detail in the patch of white at the base of her primaries.
But if those be nits I can ignore them. Mostly.
Ron
Love Love Love everything about this photo. Well done Ron 😄
Truly magnificent shot Ron! Thanks for sharing!
Charlotte Norton
❤️
Aaah, food for the soul.
Feast away, Kathryn.
Yes, beautiful! I saw a Red Tail today – it flew/burst into a sunlit clearing. Gosh it lifted my spirits!
Thanks for this, Mary
Good for you, Mary. And for your red-tail.
This shot needs to be on a wall — STAT! Everything about it is *chef’s kiss* perfection! Plus, she’s quite the beauty — is she missing a tail feather on her left-wing side?
Marty, I agree that it looks like she’s missing that tail feather but she isn’t. I can see it when I look at the high resolution image. The light’s just reflecting off of it in a funny way,
Then she is, indeed, perfect! 🌈
🙂
EVERYTHING about this picture is perfect ❤️
Definitely worthy of hanging on a wall❗️
So glad yesterday was a success.
Thank you, Diana.
I’m thinking she had heard about you and knew you were overdue for a great RT Hawk photo, so she she lifted those gorgeous wings, launched and turned her head to oblige your (our) need for a catchlight (or two). She’s a very clean-looking bird, beautiful tail feathers — a special photo, from top to bottom
Thanks, Chris. If she’d heard about me she’d probably have just given me butt shots…
Anyone who can find any nits in this particular photo has better eyesight than I have (or want).
Spectacular.
Ha, I have cataracts and I can see them, EC. But they’re so small I’m sure not going to lose any sleep over them.
Outstanding and perfect. Have a great day!
Thanks and thanks, Laval.
Outstanding……….thank you!!
Thanks, Peg.
Anticipation
Suspended in air,
but headed somewhere.
Wings stretched so long,
the downbeat to come.
The juniper green:
I can almost smell spring.
Lyle, I actually COULD smell spring yesterday.
This is about as perfect as a photo can get. What caught my eye first are those beautifully outstretched wings. Flawless. If an amateur like me took this it would be framed for sure. She has a very serene look about her. Outstanding photo and beautiful Red-tail.
Thanks, Everett. Who knows, this photo may one day be printed and hung somewhere in my home.
I’m in AWE of the powerful elegance in this frame– but THAT WING ! It’s probably the most beautiful–in its totality–photograph of a bird wing I’ve ever seen–
I’m so glad for you that you were finally able get out and be rewarded with this magnificent capture !
That wing is pretty impressive isn’t it, Kris. Thanks.
I feel as if I could count all her feathers. So crisp! Great shot.
Thank you, Arwen.
Neat! 😀 It REALLY all came together for this photo – light/body position/anchoring junipers/nice background…..VBG!
Glad I don’t live in WY and CO right now…..😳
Thanks, Judy. Me too, although I do envy all the moisture they’re getting. We could sure use some of it here.
We also need the moisture badly – Belt Creek looking like mid-summer including DOC……😞
Stunning shot Ron. I love everything about it, from the tip of her beautiful wing, right down to the visible juniper berries. So glad you were able to get back out shooting and were rewarded with this beauty.
Thank you, Mark. I think those berries add to the photo too.
That’s a beautiful shot in many respects, but the biggie for me is the catchlight in the eye. My own eye goes right to it. Great capture!
Thanks, David. It’s actually a double catch light with the points of light being very close together.
If she hadn’t turned her head a few degrees my way there’d have been little if any light on her face and there likely wouldn’t have been any light in her eye.
As I’ve often said, little things matter.
What a beauty! Thanks for a wonderful image to start the day.
Thank you, Sallie.