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<\/p>\nWhen they’re done well (and haven’t been baited) flight shots of raptors with prey are among my favorite types of bird photos. Hawks, eagles, owls, falcons, ospreys\u00a0– the raptor subject doesn’t really matter but if it has natural prey in its talons or beak\u00a0while in flight it adds an extra dimension of\u00a0both difficulty and behavior that has strong appeal for me as a photographer and as\u00a0a biologist.<\/p>\n
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1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Last month I was able to get a series of 14\u00a0flight shots as this Rough-legged Hawk returned to its former perch after capturing a nearby vole at Farmington Bay WMA. This might be my favorite\u00a0of the bunch because the hawk is close enough for good detail, the bird is sharp, I like the dihedral angle of the wings, there’s good light on the face and eye and even though it’s\u00a0partially shaded the prey is easily seen and well-defined.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n All too often the raptor in photos like this one have been baited or otherwise manipulated, especially when the subject is an owl (though such practices are certainly not limited to owls).\u00a0Many bird photographers are endlessly creative in both their baiting and manipulation\u00a0techniques and in their sneakiness\u00a0at hiding and\/or not disclosing their unethical\u00a0and often illegal methods.<\/p>\n That’s why I\u00a0heartily endorse the recently revised Truth In Captioning Statement of the\u00a0North American Nature Photography\u00a0Association (NANPA). Viewers and consumers of the work of nature photographers who are known to follow those guidelines can feel confident that they’re informed of the methods used to capture the images and they’ll know if they were taken using practices that they consider to be unethical or dishonest. In my opinion disclosure is paramount!<\/p>\n If you’re interested there’s a link to\u00a0the Truth In Captioning Statement on NANPA’s ethics page<\/a> (it’s a PDF document and I had trouble providing a direct link).<\/p>\n I strongly encourage all nature photographers to follow NANPA’s guidelines. Doing so will give viewers and consumers of your work confidence that your images have been taken ethically, that any “unusual”\u00a0and potentially misleading or dishonest\u00a0image processing has been disclosed and it will prevent at least some abuses of wildlife.<\/p>\n A win-win for all concerned.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Plus an endorsement of NANPA’s Truth In Captioning guidelines.<\/p>\n