Close up of a Red-tailed Hawk in flight – Nikon D810, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR, natural light, not baited
There are times when the birds I want to photograph are too far away and then there are times when the birds get too close, this Red-tailed Hawk got too close. I photographed this Red-tailed Hawk on September 4th in Utah County and created the image as the hawk lifted off from a power pole across the road. If I had turned my camera vertically I may have been able to avoid clipping the left wing or if I had been a bit farther away it might not have been an issue.
I decided I like the image despite the clipped wing because of the fine details, great eye contact and the pose of the hawk.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Red-tailed Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species.
Hi! Beautiful photo! Love it! Have a great day
I think your accidental composition is perfect. If you hadn’t shot it like that, cropping it to look like that be what it would take to give the same sense of drama.
What an amazing shot Mia!
Oh my. And repeat.
Better too close than too far. Great image and detail offset the minor amount of clipped wing, in my opinion too.
Artistically, I love this image just the way it is..including the out of frame wing tip. The arc of the wings is fantastic…incredibly graceful and so very, very pleasing to my eyes…i think this is a great image…very dramatic ( unless you’re a hapless vole, then it’s got to be terrifying!)…
Stunning photo 🙂
It’s not too close. It’s just perfect. You have the one complete wing, the talons, the eye contact. Maybe he was trying to intimidate you by flying close.