I love photographing raptors in flight.
1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Four days ago in northern Utah this adult red-tail had been perched on a cliff face that was just a little too far away from me for quality photos. But surprisingly it took off in my direction and as it approached it came close enough to give me much better detail. By the time this photo was taken it was beginning to tuck its legs under its tail on the downbeat of its wings but…
1/2500, f/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
on the upbeat 1/10th of a second later it was still pumping its legs back down as buteos are prone to do before they’ve gained sufficient air speed. When that speed has been attained they’ll tuck those legs and feet beneath the tail and keep them there which will give them a more aerodynamic profile.
I wish there were a few puffy white clouds in the background to break up the homogenous sky but nature doesn’t always cooperate that way. Besides it would be a little ironic for me to complain about the lack of clouds because lately about all I do is bitch and moan about our almost perpetually overcast skies for the last few months.
I’m getting tired of it…
Ron
These shots are both exquisite portraits of the Red Tail Hawk. I am once again impressed with the way you capture both the beauty and the personality of the birds you photograph.
I would STILL love to be able to fly.
Not in a metal tin can, cheek by jowl with far too many other humans, but under my own power. Soaring with the winds. Dive-bombing and scaring the crap out of some, crapping on selected other individuals…
And, getting back to the post. Ooh. Ahh. And thank you.
“crapping on selected other individuals”
Ohh, for the ability to do just that!!!
LOL……oh my…..I have visions of hawks soaring with your human heads on them….. 🙂
Just amazing shots. To be repetitive with others, I like the information on the pumping of the legs. As far as flying with the birds, I dreamt about that as a child!! Guess I know what that means!!! Thank you, Ron.
I had those same types of dreams when I was quite young, Alice. Don’t think many of my hormones were gushing yet at that age though…
On second thought…. While I was flying in those dreams I was often showing off for Cheryl Brown, one of my first “crushes”. Perhaps Freud know what he was talking about.
I’m sorry, you are making me laugh endlessly Ron…… “gushing”…..ohhhh my…. great sense of humor you have….. LOL
“great sense of humor you have”
Some would call it juvenile but it is what it is…
Juvenile? Who wants to grow up anyway……that’s just no fun….
What’s wrong with juvenile humor? When you can still laugh at poop, life if good 🙂
Would it surprise y’all to know that I’ve routinely fantasized about flying with Mariah, hanging on to the feathers on her nape. But SHHHHH! Don’t tell her! She’d shake me off in a New York second…LOL!
Awesome shots Ron!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
Dang! Judy beat me to the rope comment. I guess the early bird catches the joke worm. 😉 And I totally agree with Patty — what in the world could be sexier than being able to fly like a raptor?
These are wonderful shots. There’s so much power in the first one. It looks like he’s doing push-ups against the air. The second is my favorite of the two because I can see so much of the detail on the ventral side of those wings. Thanks for the tidbit about the legs; I had no idea, but it makes sense when I think about how we used to get the playground swings going.
And, for the record, being able to take photos like these is pretty damn sexy in my book! 😉
“being able to take photos like these is pretty damn sexy in my book!”
Ha, thanks for that, Marty. At my age I need all the help in that arena I can get!
Don’t we all?
Yes that would be nice, maybe I should start taking nature photos too….. 😊
That first shot has to be one of the most graceful images you’ve posted…love it!
Thanks, Patty.
There’s such elegance in flight, even those not-so-elegant moments when flight is getting underway with less-than-optimum sky conditions. And what a wondrous thing to be able to open your wings and leap into the sky! Wouldn’t that be wonderful? But I’m sure it’s best that humans can’t fly. Imagine the mess we’d make of it 🙂
I love the sight of redtails I the morning! Thank you!
Laura, who among us has never dreamt of being able to fly? Freud believed that those types of dreams were an expression of sexual desire. Personally I never saw the connection… 🙂
You’ve got to be kidding!!! What could possibly be sexier than flying?????
I guess I’m not very sexy then. I know it isn’t the same thing but I hate flying in planes so much that I’ve only flown once in the last 26 years (to be with Shannon after her accident).
On the other hand if I were capable of flight on my own my feet just might never touch the ground again in daylight…
“Flying” in a plane isn’t FLYING…it’s “high altitude canned transportation”–just like a sardine. Didn’t good old Freud think EVERYTHING was “sexual”? I think he must have been the original “dirty(frustrated)old man”… He assigned a sexual connotation to everything….to me, flying means freedom, liberation, joy, exhuberance, not sex….just ask a bird….they know the difference.
What Patty said!
Patty you are so funny! LOL 🙂 I think I may be thinking along Ron’s lines, I don’t get the Freud thing, sexual? BUT how I would love to fly, and as I watch the hawks fly over me from above, I wish I could hitch a ride…..
Yeah, I don’t get that connection, either, although I’ve imagined what it would feel like to soar on a thermal. But my impression was more about how the air is as real (for lack of a better term) and concrete (again for lack of a better word) as anything in our world (like a chair or a counter top (I’m struggling with words this morning). What I’m trying to say is that we experience air much differently than birds. I think for them, air is more like water to us, but even that is a poor comparison.
Sorry, I’m only making part sense this morning. I think another cup of coffee is required.
Laura, you made perfect sense to me and I agree with what you said.
I didn’t know about the pumping of the feet! Love the interesting information and awesome photography you share! Thanks.
Thank you on both counts, Beth.
Another superb contribution for that book …
On the first image the detail of those feathers are awesome.
Thanks for sharing this beauty.
Thanks for your confidence in me, Jorge. Don’t hold your breath for that book though… 🙂
Great flight shots, love the catchlight in the eye!!
A couple of puffy white clouds would have been nice, but hey, with the weather everyone has been having a nice clear blue sky day is a bonus in my book!!
In most ways it’s a bonus for me too, Dick. I guess I just like to complain. Thanks.
: ) Don’t we all!!
Beautiful photo and detail Ron. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with us. I find it a very nice way to start my day.
I’m appreciate hearing that, Zaphir. Thanks.
Great shots, Ron. 🙂 The 2nd one is very interesting as is the comment on pumping their legs until they get enough air speed. As the saying goes “you’d bitch if you were hung with a new rope” 🙂 Appears there are no half ways on clear or clouds some times and they certainly don’t care what we would prefer! 🙂
Judy, I haven’t heard that saying since the days when I lived in Montana. Thanks for the fond memories it brought back.
Wow Ron! Now I know what my hawk looks like up close in flight. That is super cool. Love it! Thank you for sharing this. I cannot imagine taking such shots. They are superb!
Barby
I’m glad you like them, Barby. Thanks.
And, we live seeing your results! Always fantastic!
Good! Thanks, LS.