I’ve been lucky in the past to get some nice shots of Short-eared Owls in flight carrying prey but my luck with hawks in the same situation has been abysmal. Whenever the opportunity does present itself it’s usually when the hawk has taken off away from me so all I get is another butt shot with the head and eye hidden.
1/2000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc
These birds typically want to take off into the wind and on this day the wind direction was just right so that the hawk didn’t fly away from me as it lifted off. So I got good light, an acceptable wing position and even a nice look at the vole with its eye visible.
Ron
Very classy indeed. A beautiful bird; beautifully captured.
I need a Noodle! I know some people used sandbags, but this is by far the best car-blind accessory I could imagine. Thanks, Ron, for what I’m sure will become a life-changing tip. What a shot, particularly when you consider the simple power of a raptor’s eye. It’s so focused on the viewer here.
I’ve used a lot of “things” to shoot from my window over the years Ingrid – layers of towels, bean bag and pipe wrap included. Even used a big old garishly decorated Christmas sock filled with beans for a while. Took a lot of ribbing over that one. The noodle is simply great.
Thank you for another incredible shot. I love the curl of the wings, and the clarity of both the hawk and the poor unfortunate vole’s eyes.
Oh, that noise program is Topaz DeNoise. Not expensive if I remember correctly.
Many thanks for that info, Ron. I saved that link for further reference. I intend to get some of that noodle stuff. I currently use a Puffin’ Pad but it is starting to split. Maybe I am too hard on it. LOL. Anyway yours and my method are pretty much the the same. 95% of my shooting is from my car (Ford Edge). No problem with keeping my camera/lens on my console. I like your setup to shoot out the passenger window. That’s always been a peeve of mine. The best shots always seem to turn up on that side. LOL I also like your golf cart idea. I am up in age with a weak back and that sound like an idea that I could use.
On another subject, on a recent post you mentioned you hated using some higher ISOs because of noise problem. I bought this plug-in called DeNoise. I never like a anti-noise problem for wildlife before, but this program is fantastic. I use it all the time for eliminating noise. You can control how much to use. If you look closely at some of the settings that i put on my blog in the past, you’ll notice that I have use some pretty high ISOs, and still ended up with some pretty good images.
As you know I am now on face book, but I am new at it. I wanted to send you a message there, but haven’t figured out how to do it. LOL
Bob, Noodles come in different diameters. I prefer the thicker ones (3″ in diameter) as they last longer and provide more cushion. The one I’m using now has lasted 11 months of hard use and you get 3 of them from one noodle when you cut them to size.
Another thing – when using the noodle you have the choice of resting either the lens or the lens plate on it. I prefer to use the lens plate as it gives you a better pivot point for moving or flying birds. That puts a lot of weight on a small portion of the noodle and it will eventually break down but hey – no problem, just replace the noodle. They’re cheap as dirt!
I’m not very adept at Facebook either…
A great reminder of the recently departed!
Thanks Mike. We’ve actually been quite surprised to see three of them in the last week or so. Tardy migrators I guess…
Bob, I use a “noodle” as a lens rest when I’m shooting birds from my vehicle (which is nearly all of the time). A noodle is one of those tube shaped foam toys that kids like to use to bash the crap out of each other with at swimming pools. I cut it to length, slit it lengthwise (they have hollow cores) to fit over the window, cut some curfs in it if it needs to conform to a sharply curved window edge and wrap it in duct tape so it will hold its shape. I like them MUCH better than anything else I’ve ever tried – they’re ridiculously cheap, protect both the window and the lens and in my opinion they’re an ideal platform to shoot from with large telephotos.
More here if you’re interested (though this is an older post and I’ve made a few modifications since then) – https://featheredphotography.com/blog/2010/08/19/how-i-photograph-birds-3/
Great shot, Ron. Question: You mentioned that you used your “noodle” to rest your camera/lens on when you shoot from the window. What are you talking about. what is your “noodle”.