1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\nYesterday morning started out with a bang. Soon after I got my lens on this female Red-tailed Hawk perched on the side of a lichen-encrusted cliff her mate flew in for a little sex on the rocks. Sadly they had their backs to me for the entire mating. I didn’t get any shots I like of the male when he flew off but I do like this series of the female when she eventually took off to join him.<\/p>\n
Sharp shots are always a challenge when the bird is this close to the background but in this series the hawk is sharp in all three shots. The colors of the lichens on the cliff are similar to those of the bird which might put some viewers off.<\/p>\n
The other dominant feature in the series is the shadow of the hawk on the side of the cliff. These photos were taken not long after sunrise (the sun had to get over the mountains to the east) so with the bird this close to the cliff the shadow was an integral part of all three images, like it or not.<\/p>\n
I happen to like that shadow, mostly.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\nIn the next shot in the burst the hawk has completely lifted off from the rocks. She’s so close to the side of the cliff I have to wonder if the tip of her right wing hit the rocks on the downbeat but at these focal lengths distances and depth can be deceiving.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\nFor me the bird’s shadow went from an asset to a problem in this last shot in the series. If I only considered the bird I think this photo lends itself best to a horizontal composition but that means the shadow has to be cut off at the bottom of the frame. The shadow is so dark and dominant I didn’t like the result when I cropped part of it out because it looked decapitated.<\/p>\n
So I went with what I think is a somewhat awkward vertical crop as my best available compromise.<\/p>\n
After so much bad weather and poor light lately it was fun to finally get out again yesterday morning. So far at least we aren’t on lockdown but each day access to more areas becomes unavailable because of the current crisis so I have to take it one day at a time.<\/p>\n
We’ll get through this but it isn’t easy for any of us.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A series of three photos taken yesterday, subtitled “Me and My Shadow”.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/red-tailed-hawk-4865-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"red-tailed-hawk-4865-ron-dudley\\"")
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