Talons Hold
Being a residential North Dakota nature-wildlife photographer I have seen and photographed plenty of birds; not just you’re state or regional backyard birds, ...
Read more
Being a residential North Dakota nature-wildlife photographer I have seen and photographed plenty of birds; not just you’re state or regional backyard birds, but the larger birds-of-prey. There are plenty of species to see for birdwatchers who want to add them to their list and possible “big year;” zoologist research and study; and those who just love these majestic birds. This is an image of a red-tail hawk’s talons holding on to an old wooden post. If you can’t find them flying overhead the best thing to do is get off the highway; travel down secondary roads, and watch for them on fence posts and hay rolls.
Read less
Read less
Jun, 2018Views
358
Likes
Awards
Community Choice Award
Winner in Paws Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 2
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
I was in the car traveling down the country backroads on the outskirts of Bismarck, North Dakota when I spotted this hawk close to the road on an old wooden post. North Dakota is the home to countless species of birds, including birds of prey like: turkey vultures, American kestrels, norther harriers,Hawks - (broad-winged, Swainson's, ferruginous, sharp-shinned, and red-tailed,) Owls - (great horned, short-eared, eastern screech,) Eagles - bald and golden,) and a verity of migrating birds like the American white pelican.Time
"They" say that the worst time to photograph outdoors is between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, however, some of my best images have been taken during this time. It all depends on the subject and angle of the shot, it takes practice but one can bend light to their advantage and get the shot they want. This image was taken on a sunny spring morning, it was June 7th a/11:00 am.Lighting
It was a sunny spring morning and the sun was not quite overhead, but close. The hard light gave the subject a great deal of contrast, allowing the details of the scaly feet and talons to show up more pronouncedly.Equipment
For this shot I used my Canon EOS REBEL T3i camera with a 75 - 300 mm telephoto lens @ 130mm for the focal length. Had no time for set up, I was in the car traveling down the country backroads on the outskirts of Bismarck, North Dakota when I spotted this hawk close to the road on an old wooden post. My ISO was set on 400 and the aperture was set for a shallow depth-of-field at f/4.5. No Flash or tripod was used, there was plenty of sunshine at 11:00 am and I was lucky enough that the sun was off to the side a little, but the sun was getting pretty high in the sky.Inspiration
Being a residential North Dakota nature/wildlife photographer I have seen and photographed plenty of birds; not just you’re state or regional backyard birds, but the larger birds-of-prey. There are plenty of species to see for birdwatchers who want to add them to their list and possible “big year;” zoologist research and study; and those who just love these majestic birds. I try to inspire others to come to North Dakota and see the beauty of its wildlife and their environment. This is an image of a red-tail hawk’s talons holding on to an old wooden post. If you can’t find them flying overhead the best thing to do is get off the highway; travel down secondary roads, and watch for them on fence posts and hay rolls. I was pretty close to this subject, and was lucky that the hawk didn't fly away when taking the shot, but I'm always ready to stop my car and hope for the best when they get close to the back 40 roads; it saves me from having to sit out in a field for possible hours before I see them. Most importantly; you're more app to be inspired if you love what you do and the subject that's being photographed.Editing
I believe post-processing is essential for any image, no matter if it is digital or film. It can dramatically change the mood, color, and content with various tools at your disposal. However, there are times when the basics are all you need as it is in the image, with the exception of the black background. Basics include: contrast, exposure, highlights and shadows. Sometimes a little vibrance or saturation will be needed, but not both, otherwise it will appear overworked, however, a little or a lot of sharpening should be added with every shot.In my camera bag
For my equipment I normally pack the Canon EOS REBEL T3i camera with a 75 - 300 mm telephoto lens; 18 - 55 wide-angle lens; hood/tulip, UV filters, macro lenses and tubes; 6 pack of batteries for my camera and external flash with adjustable head, including chargers for both; tripod with weights; remote trigger, flashlights and sheets. I pack more things depending on what type of shoot it is, but these items are the basics one must have to be ready for just about anything you may stumble across in the field.Feedback
Scouting a location is one of those things that makes a big difference in a persons photograph; you need to know where the "light source" is at and if more is required. After all photography simply means to paint w/light. Once you look at light as one of the components in the shot, the better off you'll be. This shot was taken out in the field with the available light for the time of day and I happened to be lucky that the sun was not behind my subject, otherwise it would have been more on the silhouette side.
