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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Nov, 2015Views
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Contender in the Visual Poetry Project
Great Shot
Peer Award
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Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
Absolute Masterpiece
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
Virtuoso
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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!
