![\"red-tailed](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/red-tailed-hawk-0799-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/1600, f\/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc,\u00a0not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nThis older photo of a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk has never seen the light of day because initially I had several reservations about it and then it just got lost in my archives and it’s been off my radar ever since. But last night I stumbled across it once again and decided it was worth another look.<\/p>\n
Three things bothered me about the image:<\/p>\n
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- Because the bird is standing behind<\/em> the foreground rocks those rocks are soft.<\/li>\n
- I wish the grasses were on either side of the hawk instead of in front of it.<\/li>\n
- I don’t have quite enough room on the left to give me the composition I’d prefer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
None of these shortcomings by themselves would be enough for me to nix the photo but in combination they were just too much\u00a0so I shelved the image.<\/p>\n
But over the years I think input from my readers has softened some of my hard edges (you often tell me I’m too critical of my photos) and I’ve now had a partial change of heart about this one. I’ve decided that this beautiful, statuesque hawk is so dominant in the image that I’m able to largely overlook those imperfections and enjoy the image for what it is – a detailed look at a magnificent raptor in a natural setting.<\/p>\n
Yes, I’m pretty set in my ways (I\u00a0often facetiously tell\u00a0friends who make fun of me for that\u00a0trait that my middle name is “Flexible”) but maybe there’s hope for me yet…<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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Occasionally I have second (or even third or fourth) thoughts about an image. This is one of them.<\/p>\n