The Cowboy Hawk. Young Red_tailed Hawk confronts me on the plains. A re-post since this image was deleted from my account page and contests— somehow by Viewbug.
Apr, 2018Views
1350
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Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Community Choice Award
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 32
Peer Award
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Superb Composition
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Virtuoso
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
Happy
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Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
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Platinum
llowzz
April 09, 2018
Totally wonderful image !! Love your title,it looks like he is puling his coat back ready to go for his,two guns of course !!
PRO
Pamelabole
April 09, 2018
Hahahahaha....that stance and "look" made me laugh out loud!! Amazing and wonderful capture!! Love it!!! : )
kathyk_abq
April 10, 2018
So good to see him back!!! This is a fantastic capture, Tom! What attitude! :)
Alfredo_Jose
April 11, 2018
I love it! This is an incredible shot! I've never seen anything like it!
dewood62
May 04, 2018
OMGSH 😄 I had to do a double take. That hawk means business. I can almost hear his spurs!
Platinum
debbiereynoldswinn
May 18, 2018
Is this actually how this bird stands or has this photo been photo shopped ? I'm not trying to be rude but it really does look almost staged. I have never, that I know of, seen an owl like this so I have no way of knowing anything about it.
PRO+
RSJabaay
June 01, 2018
As I was saying(no edit?) worker to make some chaps. Delightful shot thanks for sharing.
PRO+
Threedragonsart
June 16, 2018
And you got this on a IPhone..... Wow , All You Shots are superb I am so glad you found my site , so I turn I could find yours, can't wait to see what's next.....
PRO+
Platinum
rmr731
June 22, 2018
This is awesome! Your description is perfect too! lol! Not to mention a great capture! Love it!
mttomimages
May 16, 2019
This is such an amazing shot! I read your description of how you got it. Such a great story!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The photo of this young Red-tailed Hawk was taken at Otto Armleder Park, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. In February.Time
I was in a field searching for Short-eared Owls when this Hawk floated down from the sky, landed 15 feet (3 meters) from me. Totally unexpected and unexplained. I was using a hand-held 300mm, f/2.8 lens at the time. The hawk kept walking toward me. I continually had to keep backing-up, to take the shots. This experience lasted minutes. About 45 frames were taken of this bird as it advanced toward me. Many different poses. The "Cowboy" pose is the Best pose. I thought the legs looked like Cowboy chaps.This was a surreal experience never to be forgotten.Lighting
The field was very dry and barren in February, quite Brown. A Neutral color. The Hawk looks good in contrast.Equipment
A Canon, hand-held, 300mm, f/2.8 lens was used with a Canon 1Dx mark one, camera.Inspiration
The opportunity was spontaneous. This bird was such a colorful character to photograph. Loved his antics while it was on the ground. It flew into a short Pear tree in this field, turned to face me to bid farewell, and flew off. A very special and memorable experience.Editing
photo was edited in Lightroom 6.In my camera bag
Normally, I shoot wildlife from a tripod and a 500mm f/4 lens with a 1.4 Teleconverter, resulting in 700mm. This Hawk was shot hand-held since I was searching for an afternoon fly-up from Short-eared Owls. The 300 is lighter and easier to use in the field while hiking through the grasses.Feedback
In Nature and Wildlife photography, always be on alert. The action can happen at any time. Always set camera to high burst rates to capture the movement. My motto: Embrace Patience. Join in the Silence. Become the environment. Create a Masterpiece in 1/250th of a second, to last a Lifetime.
