Junipers and their berries are always a welcome addition to the settings of my photos.
1/3200, 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
Two weeks ago tomorrow I spent quite a while waiting for this adult Red-tailed Hawk perched atop a juniper tree in northern Utah to take off. ‘She’ wasn’t quite close enough for quality photos while she was perched and besides, she’s largely hidden by greenery. But when those expansive wings spread out they can help to fill the frame and provide some dynamic flight postures so I thought it might be worth the wait..
Eventually she took off to my right. The following seven photos of her taking off and in flight are sequential shots in a burst with no skips so we’ll see the good with the not so good when it comes to image quality. I posted one of these photos twelve days ago.
1/2000, 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
As expected she launched into the north wind coming from my right which initially slowed her down a little in flight. In order to avoid the higher branches to her left she had to get a lot of lift out of that first wing downbeat so she raised her wings as high as she possibly could.
1/2000, 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
She got the lift she needed but unfortunately my shutter timing cast a shadow on her head from her right wing. I was lucky to still get a catch light in her eye.
1/2000, 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
In the next shot I wasn’t so lucky.
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
And then my diabolical friend Murphy tantalized me by allowing good light on her face and eye but causing me to clip her right wing.
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
Not a great flight posture and her head is partially shaded. Oh well, this shot is a little soft anyway.
But thankfully all the stars were in alignment for the next photo.
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
This is my favorite shot of the series, the one I posted twelve days ago. It’s part of the series so I’m including it again.
At the end of a flight series it’s my habit on Feathered Photography to say something like “After this shot I lost focus on the bird so this is the last photo I’ll include”. But this morning I decided to break that mold and show you how dramatically awful it can look when that happens. In the 1/10th of a second between this shot and the next one my single active focus point…
went out of its ever lovin’ mind and completely lost its lock on the bird. I kept the hawk completely in frame for several more photos but all of them looked about like this. Once you’ve lost focus lock on a bird in flight it’s much more difficult to reacquire it than it would have been to maintain it. And maintain it I didn’t.
As a student of birds I like to see the dynamics involved in takeoff and flight so when I post a series I sometimes include every shot I took. It’s a given that some will be better technically than others but in a series I don’t want to miss anything.
And that’s why you’re seeing the good, the bad and the ugly today. When I post ugly I post really ugly.
Ron
I enjoyed the series and appreciate the crummy end shot as we all get those!
We moved to St George at the end of November and I haven’t seen many birds at all/ Mp woodpeckers at all. Sure nice to see your captures.
AT LEAST ONE….ANY WAY….PREFERRABLY A FEMAE…😍🙄
All are magnificent but, the last is my all-time favorit…for the crispness and fine detail…(alsol like te “fling” shot)….
Thanks, Patty. By “last” I assume you’re referring to the second to the last and not that blurry mess at the end. If so I agree with you.
I think about you often and hope you’re hanging in there.
Ron,
It was nice to see you this AM in the “PM!”
I hope to see your shots from this morning soon. It helps me compare and judge my progress as a “student” of FP. When I find myself at the same location as you it gives me confidence that at least it is not the venue but the photographer! I did find a bird on a power pole as I was leaving with an entirely white head and shoulders. Don’t know what it is. I will have to ask Merlin!
Best,
Stephen
Was that you? Sorry, when I’m in the field I’m so fixated on looking for birds I pay very little attention to other vehicles except to make sure I don’t run into them. Next time wave me down for a quick hi.
Don’t expect to see much from me taken this morning. It wasn’t my day.
Late to the party this morning – but starting the day in awe, wonder and delight is most excellent.
Many, many thanks.
Thanks, EC. You can be late to my party anytime. Besides, the host of the party was late today too (in responding).
Houston couldn’t have had a more dramatic lift off. And no junipers were incinerated in the process.
Would that last photo qualify as pure bokeh?🤔
“Would that last photo qualify as pure bokeh?”
Ha, I guess that’s one (generous) way to put it, Lyle. Perhaps a more accurate description would be “pure garbage” but I like your description better.
The timeliness of this very special red tailed hawk series for our family this weekend fills my heart. Thank you, Ron.
I love to have good timing, Peg – probably because with me it happens far less often than it should…
Popping up out of a juniper! Throwing her wings higher than I would think possible — and then that elegant launch shot where her fully outstretched wings remind me of a maestro leading the orchestra. Those first three images really bring a smile to my face. Not that I’m frowning on the rest (well, maybe that last one 😂), but especially not your favorite, which is a magnificent shot.
Thanks very much, Chris.
My favorite is shot 2.
The loss of the AF shot is quite educational for me.
“The loss of the AF shot is quite educational for me.”
Good! I waffled about whether I should include that one or not but I did because I hoped it would be enlightening for some of my readers.
I love these, some are definitely favorites, 3 and 7 stand out. Why is it our auto focus goes so astray when it does and takes so long to recover? I hold my Back Button while tracking, seems to cause less searching for my auto focus but this is definitely an occurrence and frustration for me. Are new cameras faster at recovery?
April, I’ve only had one of the new cameras in my hands for a short time at a camera shop so I don’t really know from much experience but it’s my understanding that the AF systems on these new Canon cameras are nothing short of awesome. Some other brands are very good too.
Stunning series. Such power in those wings.
Thanks, Kathryn.
Awesome play by play Ron. And your fav photo of the series is magnificent. 😄
Thank you, Kathleen. Good to talk to you this morning. Made it home without mishap but also without a lot of promising photos.
The shot that you call your “favorite” is what I call a real “triumph”–just
plain magnificent. And I think that the fact that you regularly post your
“failures” and openly point out the faults in others is a kindness to the
many amateur photographers among your posse–a tacit encouragement
— you certainly didn’t develop such impressive skills by just wishing
for them–an immense amount of critical analysis and toleration of failure
have created your level of accomplishment–thanks for it all !
That’s an insightful and kind comment, Kris and it’s much appreciated.
Do you set your AF points in the lower 3rd of the frame so you don’t clip the wings when they are fully extended up?
No, I don’t. Every time I’ve tried to do that my instincts tell me my active focus point is still in the middle so when the bird takes off I have too much trouble keeping it in frame and in focus. I’m just too much a creature of habit I guess.
Murphy and the stars in alignment and your skill and patience paid off in that brilliant photo that you recently showed. Glad you came back and gave us the complete story behind this outstanding photo. As I said before, I think you should frame it.
It really paid off when you decided to wait for her to explode out of those junipers.
Here in the Prescott area we have more junipers than you could ever count and they are primarily responsible for us leading the US in highest pollen count for most of the spring. All through March you can check the pollen counts in the US and you will find us in first place. We had some rain and light snow yesterday so we are down to 9.3, but just before that we were at our usual 11.3 to 11.9.
Thank you, Everett. Thankfully hay fever is one malady I don’t suffer with so those pollen numbers don’t mean a lot to me but I’m sure they’re very high.
Beautiful, fun series Ron even with the various “faults”. 😉 The 3rd and 6th photos have special appeal for me for some reason. The last shot is all TOO familiar! 😄
Judy, I’m sure that last shot is all too familiar for all bird photographers.
Love this beautiful series Ron. So very timely for our family as Chris’ anniversary is Monday. We are thoroughly enjoying your photos and writing and often start conversations with “oh, did you see Ron’s post this morning?” We are thankful for all of the time, talent and effort you put into your photography and this blog. It’s wonderful.
I know how meaningful red-tails are for your family, Mark. I’m glad the timing worked out.
The trials and tribulations of the bird photographer. I love the way her wings are twisted in the second shot — to me it shows a preview of the power she has. The third shot is pretty special too, shadow be damned. (Of course, if I were behind the camera, all my shots would look like the last one!)
I’m up with mama dog — took care of the input and am waiting for her to signal that it’s time for some output, for which I prefer to let her into the yard. 😉
Thanks, Marty. I like that third shot too, despite the shaded face.
Good luck with mama dog and I hope she cooperates with her output…
Make it easier on yourself. And Mama dog…justsend me a couple of the pupsnin a few.weeks…