Or at least partial prey…
Yesterday I saw the coldest temperatures I remember experiencing in the 50 years I’ve lived in Utah. As I crossed the frozen Bear River in Box Elder County the thermometer hit -22° F. That doesn’t compare to the truly frigid temps I experienced almost every winter when I lived in northern Montana but it still got my attention. Since I knew I would be driving on remote snow-covered roads and in that situation getting stuck in the snow, a dead battery or other breakdown can be deadly I was prepared with extra coats, gloves, hats, snow boots, chemical hand warmers, snow shovel, tow rope, tools and snacks. Thankfully I didn’t need them but they sure gave me peace of mind.
And this Rough-legged Hawk made the long, cold trip worth it.
1/5000, f/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 330mm, not baited, set up or called in
It was right next to the road, so close that I had to grab my 100-400 zoom lens and dial it back to 330mm to hopefully avoid clipping wings if it took off. It had the remnants of a bird (a wing I think) in its talons and when it eventually flew off it took the snack along too.
In this shot I enjoy the pre-launch pose, the prey, the natural habitat in deep snow and the long shadow of the bird on the snow (that I cropped to include completely). There’s a couple of small clumps of snow on the beak that might bother some but in this situation I’m fine with them.
Sadly, despite using my shorter lens, I still clipped wings in several otherwise interesting shots after the hawk took off.
For me clipped wings are an anathema but they come with the territory when you’re photographing birds in flight.
Ron
Just lovely. Have you ever seen hawk snow angels? They’re just gloriously beautiful.
Sorry to be late…been basking in low 70s here in the Phoenix area 🙂 And now, lest Karma work, I’m going to continue catching up!
Nice shot Ron!, I’m always amazed at how many photographers don’t mind clipping wings off and crop tightly! I’m with you, I always try to not clip wings and include the entire bird and some of its surroundings. P.S. Roughies are a fav of mine
I much prefer unclipped wings and a looser crop, Andy – especially if the setting is appealing.
Ron,
Love it, as always. What a great, intense, “look” on his face. I agree it has been cold. The lack of sun this morning and the cold temperatures kept me in bed. I guess I lack your dedication.
Best,
Stephen Clayson
That combination would likely keep me in bed too, Stephen – if I didn’t have a blog to write and post every morning. But no amount of cold will keep me in bed if three’s a forecast for sun and good light and there’s birds around…
Love it !!! Love birds in snow… does your lens not condense???I have problems with condensation
Marina, See my response to Joe, below.
I like the snow on the beak. Confirmation (not that I need it here) that the photo is ‘real’.
And it is early here and already hot. The snow looks blissful. Really, really blissful.
And the Rough-legged Hawk is a gem. Thank you.
“The snow looks blissful”
It is, EC but perhaps a compromise between your temps and ours would be ideal… 🙂
Beautiful image, Ron. The look of that snow says it is REALLY cold — there’s something about snow in below-zero temperatures. I really feel for that Roughie and the rest of the animals out looking for food in these conditions. I’d love to see some of the other images, even if his wings are clipped.
I’m blown away by the hardiness and dedication of you and of other photographers who brave frigid temperatures to share their gift with the rest of us. So glad to hear that you and Mia didn’t need to delve into your stash of emergency supplies.
Thanks, Marty. Others have also requested to see some of those clipped shots so I’ll probably post them in the next few days.
Nice shot Ron. Since your in your truck how do you keep your lens from fogging up when you shoot it outside the window? Do you not run the heater and have the windows rolled down while you drive. I would imagine your blasting the heater at -22° F. I am guessing you have the 7D Mark ll with the 500mm and the 7D with the 100-400 sitting beside you as a backup for tighter shots, so it would be sitting in a warm truck with a heater blasting and then to grab it and stick it out the window where it’s -22° F, that wouldn’t work, so I am guessing your doing something else.
Joe, I don’t remember my lens (either one) ever fogging up. Not once. Perhaps that’s due to our relatively low humidity?
What I do have problems with in these temps is my viewfinder fogging up when I forget and breathe on it. It always seems to happen when I have an interesting subject in front of me and I’m screwed when I can’t see through my viewfinder. And it takes a long time to clear up in that relatively confined space.
Beautiful! I had trouble getting a sharp images Thursday at Farmington bay. I wondered if it was the cold, The temperature was 4 degrees. I also had trouble getting stuck in the snow a few times.
Did you attempted the auto loop at BRMBR?
Thanks, April. No, I never made it to the refuge.
Did Joe Ford pull you out of the snow? He saved my bacon out there one day years ago when the vehicle I was driving didn’t have 4-wheel drive. He’s done the same with others.
No I always go prepared, I dug myself out (3 times) then called it a day. Good to know there is backup.
A truly beautiful shot. I love all the details. And I’m really glad you didn’t get stuck out there – the very thought sends me into panic mode.
Susan, the dicey part was turning around for birds on that pretty narrow road covered with deep snow in my long pickup. The snow was so deep you couldn’t tell where the edge of the road was. If you slip over the edge and get stuck you’re in deep trouble when it’s that cold and remote.
The 100-400 sure gives a different feel (very pleasing) than the long lens work you normally post. It caught my eye right off the bat and made me look at the stats. I usually save that for last. The extra depth of field works well in this composition. The focus issues in the cold with the heat waves coming from under the vehicle, may have been my problem a year ago at Bear River. It’s the only explanation left because I haven’t had a problem since.
Good eye, Neil. I agree about the different “feel” with that lens, particularly the DOF.
Great image Ron. The curl of the Rough-legged hawks wing and the pure white feathers on the underside of the wing really caught my eye.
That sounds like a fun winter adventure. I think Bear River in the dead of winter is a beautiful landscape. You are very smart to bring the safety gear. I can imagine how quickly things could turn deadly if your vehicle broke down on some of the back roads of the refuge.
I was going to head out to Salt Lake to photograph, although I see the forecast is going to change “slightly” 🙂 from the negative 20’s to the 40s and rain. That in itself seems bizarre to me. I hope the winter weather settles down back to “normal” soon.
( I left an atmospheric optics discussion on Mia’s blog page. The short version is that you will get turbulence independent of any effects from the vehicle just from the temperature differentials across the optical path — especially at longer focal lengths and long distances. I almost through my 7D2 in the garbage can in Larmar Valley a couple of winters ago since I was convinced it was broken. It was just the cold air turbulence …).
Ed, I read your comment on Mia’s post soon after you made it. That gives me some confidence that it wasn’t a problem with my 500mm lens although I can’t figure out why the shots of the Roughie taken with my 100-400 weren’t also soft. Perhaps it’s because those shots were taken later in the morning and atmospheric conditions had changed. BUT, other shots, taken even later than that with my 500mm were also soft…
We actually weren’t at Bear River MBR – we were on the flank of the nearby Promontory Mountains.
Ron, wasn’t the Roughie a lot closer to you when you used the 100-400mm, as compared to other shots in the day using a longer focal length? If so, that would explain it. The longer path length really accentuates the observed degradation in image quality and focus. If you noticed a difference between the 500mm and the 100-400mm for a subject at the same distance, then it could be an aperture effect.
Yes, the Roughie was very close. However, all my shots of that bird taken with the 500mm were quite soft.
The longer focal length decreases the field of view and increases the magnification. Increased magnification increases turbulence-derived image blur. Although the longer focal length gives better spatial resolution of the subject, if the turbulence is high, the resulting image is degraded to magnification of the turbulence blur. You can see this effect by looking across a turbulent path with high-power binoculars (or telescope) and then comparing with less powerful (lower magnification) binocular (or telescope).
Where I really see this the most is with wild horse photography. I got to the point where I would just stop photographing for the majority of the day, outside of the two “equilibrium” periods when the air temp and ground temp are roughly equal for ~ 15 minutes in the early morning and after sunset. If a horse was close enough then I could get better images, presumably from using a shorter focal length lens and the shorter optical path.
Thanks very much for the in-depth info, Ed. Hopefully that explains it all!
The heat from the warm vehicle will exacerbate the turbulence effects, however, even out on cross country skis, away from any man-made heat source, there can be degradation to an image due to turbulence effects (non-uniform index of refraction from “cells” of air at different temperatures) and from thermal gradients (mirage effects). So, the heat from the truck and exhaust is an additional problem, in my way of thinking about it.
Also thx, Ed – so many things that can cause problems! 🙂
Ed, many thanks for your detailed and articulate information!
I admire your dedication to your calling almost as much as I admire the results………and I know that one doesn’t get those kind of results ( not regularly, anyway, like you get them ) without the practice and
experience under the most trying circumstances that you’ve gained over the years……I hope that you don’t get TOO many observations that you are “lucky” or ” SO talented—I wish I had your kind of talent”
because your dedication and effort contribute about 80% of the wonderful yield………
Spectacular shot Ron!
Charlotte
Always love your photos, Ron!!
Thanks, Judy.
Were you bothered by the same focusing problems due to heat waves that plagued Mia?
Yes, I was, Larry. Almost all the shots I took with my 500mm were soft. Mia thinks it was the heat waves from the hot exhaust under the pickup and I hope she’s right. That kind of thing is well known to happen and it’s just too much of a coincidence that it happened to both of us.
But I’m not sure why I didn’t have the same problem with the 100-400…
Ed MacKerrow, a blog follower of Mia’s, and an optical expert, has an interesting (way over my non-photo geek,pea-sized brain) explanation for the “softness” you both experienced. I like all your and Mia’s images even so….
Patty, Ed is a good friend of mine (and an excellent and ethical nature photographer) and he really knows his stuff when it comes to optics.
Ron, The image is so alive. Thanks for going out in the cold to capture the images you post for some of us who stay inside. The snow on the beak makes the bird even more alive for me.
Diana, some folks would clone out those small clumps of snow but they were there so I left them in. I really dislike cloning in nature photography…
“I really dislike cloning in nature photography…”
And for that, we are eternally grateful!!!
Way too cold for me Ron. But I give you credit for having the initiative to get out there and it paid off. Great light and sharp as a tack. One of the reasons I enjoy looking at your many of your photos is what I would refer to as the natural look. Great color balance and a demonstration of excellent post processing, or lack thereof. Starting with a good exposure is a huge benefit and it looks like you did a good job in the snowy conditions. Just saying, sometimes I find myself over doing it in post and your images remind me to try to stay away from that temptation. Thanks again. PS, if this is a double post I apologize. Seems like my internet went down just as I was making the first one.
“demonstration of excellent post processing, or lack thereof”
Excellent point, Frank – especially the “lack thereof” part. All I did with this image was crop, a slight exposure adjustment and then sharpen. As you obviously know, over processing can ruin an image very easily and getting it right “in camera” is paramount.
Great Shot Ron! I agree beautiful detail.
Tough with temps at -22, but I bet you are or will be glad to have all that snow come spring when the lake starts to improve.
Here in the East we are still in a roller coaster ride with storms and temps. Right now it is a balmy 7.2 degrees F and sunny. Last week we had 6 days of overcast skies.
South of us they are having a tough coastal storm.
Dick, Hydrologists say that the snowpack in our mountains at the season’s end will have to be over 140% of normal to have a noticeable impact on the lake. This is a good start, I just hope it continues for a while (though I’m already tired of shoveling and blowing snow…)
Ah, THE PRICE WE PAY……… LOL!
In all seriousness, lets hope that the winter season will continue to bring a ton of snow to the mountains. The whole Western US can certainly benefit!
Doesn’t get much better than that. Well worth the effort and wait. Great capture, Ron
I’m glad you like it, Dick. Thank you.
Beautiful! Love the pose/detail including the long shadow.:) We’ve had one hanging around hoping for a pheasant dinner me thinks. 🙂 Avoid getting out in that kind of cold if I can for the reasons stated! Of course, “cabin fever” then can become and issue! 🙂
Thanks, Judy. I fully understand that “cabin fever” thing. With all the snow and bad light we’ve had over the last month I’ve been stuck in the house much more than usual. It has really interfered with my photography.