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Sharp-shinned hawk staring me down

Sharp-shinned hawk staring me down



Sharp-shinned hawks love our backyard given we have many bird-feeders thus prey, easy prey for them. This one landed on our deck, scoping out for quite some tim...
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Sharp-shinned hawks love our backyard given we have many bird-feeders thus prey, easy prey for them. This one landed on our deck, scoping out for quite some time for a ready meal. This is part of a collection I'm building called "Back-yard Birds." I'm almost ready to go full steam into it.
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cameraNIKON D7000

settings Aperture f/5.6 ISO 1600 Shutter 1/250 Focal Length 230/1 

upload_dateNov, 2015

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943

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Awards

Great Shot
Peer Award
jfrid anjavanderdonk Artattack Jimg iangooch toshihiro_shoji holliemarshall +37
Top Choice
micHELL666 Cre8iveXpressions geoffreynash amoeba KiminWNC RavenHawk58 photosbyjoesaladino +17
Superb Composition
JayneBug edandaniphone normsfotos JamesHuang reginaldgargaro67 DerrickSteeves 123ecarney +13
Magnificent Capture
yacekszocinski enriquekapie Steve-n-Ning Ralphs_Fineart_Images terrysigns13 photoman1974 kurtvolkle +3
Absolute Masterpiece
leewright_0459 mauve_star eleazarparedes mikeleblanc flybee379 Svenergy72 0874 +2
Superior Skill
barbaranelson jlappen rachelhelenhudson Gilleroo1 dennisrubin MickAlicic
Outstanding Creativity
StasysZakas rosemarymartin lavansivaraja birder2 Judy_zehentner
Virtuoso
GigiJim08
All Star
ismeghead
Genius
michaelfmoore

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3 Comments | Report
GigiJim08 PRO+
 
GigiJim08 July 22, 2017
so pretty! Congratulations on your award!
terrysigns13
 
terrysigns13 October 30, 2017
FABULOUS!!! What a shot!
kristitimmons
 
kristitimmons December 23, 2018
Beautiful capture!

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#hawks #Sharp-shinned Hawk #nature #back-yard birds #wildlife

Behind The Lens

Location
I was looking out onto the deck through the windows and the deck door in our backyard. Suddenly this sharp-shinned hawk swooshed down onto the deck railing where it parked itself for a while. You see, we have mucho bird feeders in our backyard. We lost some really big trees in a tornado that ripped through here, thus leaving wide open spaces for the hawks to get a better look for prey. I stood on the deck, he stood on the railing, we had a stare-off going on!
Time
What was so special about this picture was that it did not perch there later in the day or early morning. This was in broad daylight, the middle of the day!
Lighting
It was a very clear day. The sky was luscious deep blue. Very little wind. The sun was hanging brightly in the sky so taking a photo of this incredible bird was about as easy as it could get!
Equipment
While I usually use a Tamron tripod when photographing birds, this setting was so easy that all I had to do was to take my Nikon NIKON D7000 with the following settings: Aperture: f/5.6, ISO: 1600, Shutter Speed: 1/250, Focal Length: 230/1. I used a high shutter speed in the event the hawk flew off so then I would follow it and try to get flight shots.
Inspiration
I am always captivated by the many birds that find their way into our backyard, especially the bigger ones. This was a catch! I raced for my camera, my heart beating fast, stepped out the door, aimed and got it. The sheer beauty and magnificence of this hawk gave me such excitement! Then, the intense eyes, staring me down. Whew!
Editing
I did not have to do much post-processing. I brought more of the color out, blurred the background a little, and made sure the lighting was going to work. I do much of my post-processing in Lightroom. I use Photoshop to assure pixel strength and resolution.
In my camera bag
At that time I had a NIKON D7000. I used the kit Nikon lens for this photo but also had a 200 zoom Tamron. Always plenty of memory cards with high memory capability. I also had some filtering lens but rarely used them. Depended more on my shooting settings.
Feedback
Always keep your eyes open for something is bound to happen that you least expect. Particularly if you are into shooting photos of birds and animals, landscapes and clouds. I love shooting clouds as I see formations that appear then move on. For birds, though, it's critical to know their behaviors, how do they land, prepare for take off, how do they dive for their prey, where might you likely to see them. The expectations are thrilling!

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