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Oct, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took the picture during the hawk migration, fall 2014, at Holiday Beach Conservation Area, OntarioTime
It was around noon (funny thing - many of my best photos are in the middle of the day)Lighting
The lighting was not ideal (middle of the day) but the bird chose the best angle. I guess he just wanted to be famous :)Equipment
Nikon D7100, nikkor 55-300 VR lens, handheldInspiration
I was watching the hawk migration for days but every day the wind was blowing from the south (not helping the hawks) or was cloudy and raining. Finally after one week we had a nice north wind with a nice blue sky... but ... was too nice and the hawks where so high in the sky. I was about to leave the observation deck without any picture (looking jealous at a guy in the tower with a 600 mm lens) when a red tailed hawk dipped from the sky and landed on the observation deck rail. It was so close that I wasn't able to catch him entire in the frame but I got some very good pictures of him. Now the guy with the 600 mm lens was looking jealous at me - he couldn't take any picture because the hawk was too close.Editing
Since I shoot RAW, I used Lightroom for some "normal" adjustmentIn my camera bag
I carry a backpack with the D7100 camera, a Tamron SP F/2 60 mm macro lens, Tamron 17-50 F2.8 and most of the time I have the 55-300 lens on the camera. Usually the wildlife doesn't wait for me to change the lenses but a landscape will. Of course a tripod, shutter release cable, some filters, cleaning kit, few cans of Pepsi - kind of heavy to carry but I'm getting stronger every time :)Feedback
I've learned that no matter how long is your lens - it's not long enough. Better get used with what you have and learn to zoom with your legs. Learn to creep near the birds and be patient. And sometimes - BE LUCKY
