Took these over the weekend. Pretty sure this is a red-shouldered hawk. Spoiler Spoiler Light was pretty harsh when he got out in the open a bit. I kept hoping he'd snag a mouse, rat, or small child, but he just scanned the field the whole 30-45 minutes I watched him. I guess not much was out moving. Spoiler Spoiler Saw this guy on the way home. Normally I don't like man-made perches, but since the loggerhead shrike impales prey on the barbed wire after severing the spinal cord with that hook on his beak I figured it was ok. Spoiler Other unnatural perch. Spoiler
Nice pics. I'm partial to this one. I never had any luck with birds. I see falcons and the occasional hawk most every time I go out, but the bastards won't ever light where I can get a shot. I was looking at a painting of some parrots yesterday and I'm getting a burning itch to try find some of those to shoot.
I have a Sigma 150 to 500mm and a Canon 50d. I don't use it a lot because I haven't been real happy with the results and it's pain to lug around. I suspect a big ****** prime would be better....but I haven't gotten to that level yet. mclawson: What lens did you use for those shots? thegary: Yep, here we go again discussing equipment in a critique thread. But since this is not a photo board, I don't see any reason to have 2 separate threads:grin:
I've shot a hawk (with my 300mm lens, of course), on HWY 99, with my T1i. They are always looking for stuff on the road. Nice 400mm and 7D, by the way. Tripod? I can haz a 7D, too.
Seeing most of these pictures it seems like nowadays anyone can become a "photographer". Most of these pictures are are nice because of the things you photograph (animals, buildings). To me they are nothing different than a guy reporting things, this is not art.
You are right. Anyone can become a photographer. We didn't say we were professional photographers. If you play basketball you're a basketball player. If you draw you're an artist. And as you demonstrated, if you write douchey comments you're a douchebag.
Sensitive much? I didn't mean it in a "you guys suck" way, I meant it in a "I think art photography (aka making something beautiful out of nothing) has more value than taking pictures of something which is naturally beautiful". Looks like the "critique" in the title shouldn't be there, since apparently no one is aloud to give there perception.
Thought I might pass this along here. Jeff just tweeted this: http://ht.ly/8zjDs Maybe something people in this thread could be interested in.
repped. thanks Castor. i'm familiar with my DSLR but working with a pro (not to mention a Cfan) for free is awesome.
Thanks. I like that one most too. Birds are what I shoot 90% of the time. I've always been fascinated by them. You need some long glass to do it well, as well as gobs of patience and a bit of knowlege about behaviors and habits. The Sigma you have is long enough, but it's not the best quality. I typically use a Canon 400mm f/5.6L mounted on a Canon 7D for birds. It's a great lens in that focal length, relatively cheap, great AF, image quality, and contrast. The slow maximum aperture of f/5.6 isn't that big of a deal most of the time and I usually shoot it wide open. It's light enough I can use it all day long and it's perfect for birds in flight. I tried the Canon 100-400 a few times, but hated the push-pull zoom and always found myself at 400mm anyway. Most raptors are creatures of habit and typically hunt the same general areas. I know of about a dozen areas around here to find several types of hawk, kestrels, osprey, bald eagles, etc. on a regular basis. Oh, and no tripod was used. The 400mm f/5.6L is pretty light and easy to shoot with. I love the combo of it and the 7D.
Few landscapes. Maybe people like that more than birds. Galveston Spoiler Field by local HS football stadium Spoiler Minimalist foggy water that's no longer there thanks to the drought Spoiler Glassy water that is no longer there Spoiler Textures Spoiler
I like all of those. Well done. The football stadium might be a little too burned in the sky but still very effective.
Thanks. The sky isn't really burned though - it was ridiculously bright and blown out so I used a graduated ND filter to cut down on the clipping and was pretty happy with how it worked out during the B&W conversion.
My cat was walking around the backyard and one of those hawks tried to snag him -- I thought it was a fledgling, but after seeing your picture I think it was a red-shouldered hawk. Big mistake by the hawk - if I hadn't been there he would have been dead. Btw ~ awesome pictures.
An actual, honest to goodness piece of glass filter. Weird, I know. I also have a few non-graduated NDs, circular polarizers, and a warming filter that I have no idea where it came from.
