Red-shouldered Hawk Visit
Red-shouldered Hawk visiting to check out the bird feeder.
Red-shouldered Hawk visiting to check out the bird feeder.
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Nov, 2020Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
We have a bird feeder in front of our porch, where sparrows gather all the time. This hawk landed on the front edge of our retractable awning, supposedly stalking the bird feeder. My neighbor saw it and notified me with a text message. I then grabbed my camera and, as quietly as possible, crawled out on our front balcony, which overlooks the awning from the side. To my surprise, the hawk did not scare, and remained sitting there even after I showed myself over the railing of the balcony, with about 15 feet away between us. I then had plenty of time to take several pictures.Time
The picture was taken November 23rd, 2000, at 4:07PM.Lighting
The light was veining, but I still had it set to 1/3200 sec at F/6.3 to capture it, just in case it fled upon seeing me. I have my camera set to AUTO ISO, so the ISO moved up to the max I allow, at 6400, so a good deal of noise filtering was necessary.Equipment
Nikon D850 with Nikon 200-500 F/5.6E ED VR. No tripod, no flashInspiration
I love taking pictures of birds, and especially birds of prey.Editing
Only minor adjustments to bring out the color and reduce noise.In my camera bag
When I go out to capture birds I normally only bring my Nikon D850 with my Nikon 200-500 mm lens, and nothing else. I specialize in capturing birds in flight, so there is never time to make changes when a bird suddenly is within a suitable distance and angle.Feedback
It takes time to learn how to best use your equipment, and don't be afraid to seek advice. I used YouTube a lot to learn techniques to improve my pictures. I also used YouTube to learn how to get the most out of Adobe Lightroom, which I find very useful when reviewing a series of pictures after a trip out with the camera.
