Swainson's Hark (light morph)

[Ashleigh Scully]

Hi -

Canon 7D
Canon 400mm f/5.6
1/1000s (in case it flew)
ISO 400

Did more noise reduction on the background and more sharpening of the bird Also tried using shadows/highlights to being out some detail in the white feathers.

For my next chance at a photo like this I'm going to try to support the lens better to get more sharpness.

Thanks everyone for their comments on the other Swainson's hawk!

Ashleigh

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Ashleigh, just be careful in using Highlight/shadow, it can be a very aggressive tool at times, best to do as much as you can during the RAW conversion, plus the IQ will be far better. You can see in the head and wing where you have 'lifted' the shadow areas. It's easier to darken than lighten, always check your Histogram in camera. Meant to add, check your settings for web as the image has an untagged profile and is looking quite 'warm' as presented on scree.

Steve

[Bill Dix]

Hi Ashleigh. That's quite a handsome portrait of a handsome hawk. As you've noted, it does cry out for a little more sharpness, whether from better lens support or processing. I might suggest a tiny bit more contrast and/or saturation might pop him out -- maybe a levels adjustment. Possibly a touch of Nik Detail Extractor or Topaz Detail. And for my personal taste I'd love to see just a bit more space above him than below, and more space to the left than the right, so he has more room to look into. That said, I envy your having gotten such a good look and nice image of this guy.

[gail bisson]

Hi Ashleigh,
Good comments form the guys above!
How lucky you are to have seen these hawks. I have never seen them in real life and would love to have this shot in my files.
When I take pictures I make a choice-I set my techs for portraits or action. For a perched bird like this I would decide portrait and reduce SS and increase aperture to f 9 or 10 to get the wonderful DOF that you need for a portrait. I would get my portrait shots and then if the bird hasn't flown then I change my settings for flight and just wait,
Gail

[gail bisson]

Another thought Ashleigh. You may already know this but you can tell when a bird is about to fly because he shifts his weight on his feet and / or poops. When you see that happen get ready to start firing!
gail

[Robert Holguin]

Nice shot.
I really like the pose, nice clean background, and nice light.
Well done.