Show your Bird Portraits
- Thread starter 1982chris911
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Luck is a huge element in getting a shot like that juvenile Red Tail. Down here in extreme southern Arizona, the hawks love to perch on utility poles. Photographing them is a matter of finding a rural road in open desert and looking for the hawks. They're pretty easy to spot. But, the problem is that they're not terribly fond of people walking up to them and snapping pictures, so, they usually fly as soon as you get within about 25 yards. Often, they fly in the wrong direction -- into the sun, for example -- or before you can get set up, or with a maze of power lines between you and them. It's that one bird in 15 or 20 that flies toward you with the light at your back that you hope for. I took this shot on a day when a friend and I spent 8 hours stalking hawks. We saw dozens of them, I took about 400 photos, and this is the one really good shot of the day.
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steven kessel said:
I hear you...wildlife is tough. You need extra patience and determination...which you showed, good job.
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Haven't looked for a day or two and what a bunch of beautiful shots.
Steven, it's nice to hear the description of your hawk shot as it gives incentive to beginners like me not to think everything should be so easy. It reminds me of my sitting watching for birds when far away there is a moose appearing (just a strange dark area that caught my eye). So what does he do, knowing I'm there albeit very still, he meanders to within 25 feet of me, pretty much staring me right in the eye (when I talked to him his ears pricked up). With a fixed 600, at the end I couldn't even get his whole head in the frame. One or two shots can change the whole complexion of one's day of shooting!
Jack
Steven, it's nice to hear the description of your hawk shot as it gives incentive to beginners like me not to think everything should be so easy. It reminds me of my sitting watching for birds when far away there is a moose appearing (just a strange dark area that caught my eye). So what does he do, knowing I'm there albeit very still, he meanders to within 25 feet of me, pretty much staring me right in the eye (when I talked to him his ears pricked up). With a fixed 600, at the end I couldn't even get his whole head in the frame. One or two shots can change the whole complexion of one's day of shooting!
Jack
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