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vernswieringa
"Raptor Stare"
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"Raptor Stare"



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Taken at Grouse Mountain, BC

Taken at Grouse Mountain, BC
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cameraCanon EOS 7D Mark II

settings Aperture f/5.6 ISO 800 Shutter 1/2000 Focal Length 140/1 

locationVancouver, , CA

upload_dateJul, 2019

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2245

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7 Comments |
texaaronpueschel Platinum
 
texaaronpueschel December 02, 2019
Superb composition of this Harris Hawk.
drewfalklands
 
drewfalklands May 21, 2020
Fantastic shot my fav birds raptors
vernswieringa Platinum
vernswieringa May 25, 2020
Thanks!
RSeanC Platinum
 
RSeanC May 21, 2020
Awesome
RickL PRO+
 
RickL August 02, 2020
Fantastic head-on shot
vernswieringa Platinum
vernswieringa August 03, 2020
Thanks!
ronjudyluv2travel Platinum
 
ronjudyluv2travel November 16, 2020
Amazing shot!
vernswieringa Platinum
vernswieringa November 16, 2020
Thanks, cameras and lens are pretty amazing today!
ianbaxter
 
ianbaxter January 03, 2021
Wow
vernswieringa Platinum
vernswieringa January 03, 2021
Thanks, love the focusing power of my Canons
dinahumphreys Platinum
 
dinahumphreys May 26, 2022
Wonderful! I am following you!

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#bird #buzzard #animal #hawk
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

I photographed this raptor hawk in Vancouver BC at a bird show. The trainer released and I captured the hawk as it dive bombed the audience.

Time

After spending the last 10 days on an Alaska cruise, we finished our trip in Vancouver, BC. We visited Grouse Mountain. One of the attractions was a bird show. I took this photo at 2:45 in the afternoon in bright sunlight. which allowed me to shoot at 1/2000 of a sec.

Lighting

The bright afternoon sunlight allowed me to shoot at a very high shutter speed, stopping the bird in mid-flight.

Equipment

I used my Canon 1DX with a 70x200 with a 2x converter. No other equipment was used.

Inspiration

I love taking challenging photographs. Flying birds can be one of the most challenging shots to nail focus and eliminate motion blur. It takes some practice, but when when the end results look like this photo, it is worth it!

Editing

I did very little post processing, however, I sharpen all my photos in Lightroom. I did bump up the shadows to expose the details in the eyes and feathers.

In my camera bag

Canon 1DX and Canon 7D Mark II, EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, EF70-200mm f/2.8L II USM, EF 85mm f/1.2 USM, Lee soft and hard graduated ND filters and a 10 stop "Big Stopper" ND filter, Really Right Stuff 40 Ball head on a Gitzo tripod, two Canon Speedlites 600EX II-RT all in a FStop Tilopa Backpack.

Feedback

Using a telephoto lens (70-200) with a 2x converter only compounds the challenge of capturing in flight birds. Back button focus is a must to capture flying birds. I have found that zooming out to find initial focus helps tremendously. Once I have the bird is in focus, I zoom in keeping the focus button depressed. I also use AI focus option, which constantly adjust to the subjects movement. Burst mode shutter option is another must. Chances of capturing a photo like this with a single shutter release would be nearly impossible. This bird was flying at 50 mph. Again, it takes some practice, but when when the end results look like this photo, it is worth it!

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