![\"red-tailed](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/red-tailed-hawk-3920-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe little things that so often negatively impact the appeal of an image often drive me to distraction.<\/p>\n
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\u00a01\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon \u00a0EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n One of them is clipped wings (or any body part but clipping happens most often\u00a0to wings).\u00a0\u00a0 I photographed this\u00a0Red-tailed Hawk\u00a0as it lifted off from a juniper tree a week ago in Utah’s west desert.\u00a0 \u00a0Raptors have large wings which extend vertically at takeoff so they’re easily clipped.\u00a0 You can plan for that by composing the bird lower in the frame as you’re anticipating liftoff but they sometimes dive downward from that elevated perch so it’s easy to clip wings when they’re in the down position too.\u00a0 There’s a lot of territory you have to cover with those wings in action – especially when you consider the fact that the most visually pleasing wing positions are usually up or down rather than horizontal\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0The other important\u00a0variable is how close do you want to get to the bird?\u00a0 Too close means an increased chance of clipping, not close enough means reduced detail and image quality.<\/p>\n It’s a guessing game and the photographer often loses the game.\u00a0 I look at a shot\u00a0like this and can’t help but think “dang, if I’d only had a few more pixels up top!”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a01\/5000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon \u00a0EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, canvas added for composition,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n I photographed this Northern Harrier two days ago at Farmington Bay.\u00a0 It lifted off from its tree perch at the exact<\/em> moment I got my pickup stopped and pointed my lens at it.\u00a0 This was my first image of the bird, there were no perched shots.\u00a0 I like the light, sharpness, detail and the slight turn of the head toward me.\u00a0\u00a0 I do not like that damned stick.\u00a0 Not only is it out of focus but\u00a0part\u00a0of it is in front of some of the flight feathers so it can’t be removed.\u00a0 I got other shots of the bird after this one but by then it was past me.<\/p>\n I’m not saying that I think\u00a0these two images are abject failures and should be destined for the delete bin.\u00a0 I like them well enough to keep them, if for no other reason than the fact that I enjoy looking at the hawks.\u00a0 At least I do until I think about the stick and the clipped wing.<\/p>\n And these\u00a0types of shots help me to appreciate even more those\u00a0images I do get without any of those blasted\u00a0“little things”.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The little things that so often negatively impact the appeal of an image often drive me to distraction.<\/p>\n![\"northern](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/northern-harrier-5615-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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