![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/red-tailed-hawk-7049-horizontal-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-tailed-hawk-7049-horizontal-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nThis may turn out to be one of my favorite Red-tailed Hawk flight shots but I’m undecided about its composition.<\/p>\n
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1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II,\u00a0Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Yes, it’s another shot of the stunning rufous red-tail I’ve been making such a fuss about in recent posts. I took this photo five days ago, soon after she took off from her rocky perch. I like the grand sweep of her wings, the background, her fanned tail and the light on the bird. And she’s sharp. Unlike some of the other flight shots I took of her, this time her head doesn’t have the right wing behind it so her face and eye stand out better.<\/p>\n But I struggled while cropping the image to get the best possible composition. Typically I like to crop images like this to a 5 x 7 aspect ratio, placing the bird in the frame following the classic “rule of thirds”. But this is all the room I had on the left so to keep from centering the bird I had to chop some of the frame off on the right which made the aspect ratio more like 5 x 6.<\/p>\n No big deal but as I fiddle-farted around with composition the somewhat vertical position of her wings made me wonder what a vertical crop might look like. So I tried it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A vertical crop of the same image has its limitations too, largely because this is all the room I have below the bird. The result is a closer, more detailed look at the hawk in flight but the composition approaches “squarish” which often doesn’t appeal to viewers, including me. And for a bird in flight the hawk might be a little tight in the frame for some tastes.<\/p>\n In short, both versions have their strengths and weaknesses and I just can’t make up my mind which one I prefer. So I’ll borrow from the Beatles and ask for “A Little Help From My Friends”. If you have a preference I’d love to know which it is. And why.<\/p>\n Thanks in advance for any feedback.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n PS – Providing feedback about preference in the comments obviously isn’t necessary. Some may like both versions, some might not have a preference and others may have more important things to think about…\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This may turn out to be one of my favorite Red-tailed Hawk flight shots but I’m undecided about its composition.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/red-tailed-hawk-7049-vertical-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-tailed-hawk-7049-vertical-ron-dudley\\"")
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