Another morning with my Red Shoulder Hawk

Well as luck would have it,while out for my morning at the park, my Red Shouldered Hawk showed up just as I was leaving. This morning, I tried the "Better Beamer" to see if I could get rid of some of the shadows being caused by the sun and branches. He hung around for about 30 to 40 captures. Here is one shot and a crop of the same shot. Comments always appreciated.

(For those that have not seen my other RSH series, this guy has been showing up every morning and feasting on ground lizards...it last for about 15 minutes every morning)

I made this captureof an Osprey with his catch right before the RSH arrived. He was fishing out over the harbor and did a quick fly by to show off his catch to the fisherman with the rods.. (Cropped)

All three are fantastic, but #3 is really phenomenal!!

That's a pretty big fish he's got there!! Good timing, good capture. Osprey are so beautiful.

Way to go!

Great captures the crop in 2 is stunning and i love the osprey.

My friend seems to think this Osprey might be an escapee... He reckons that's the reason for the tatty tail feathers, they get damaged by the mesh on aviaries(sp?) when they fly about. He keeps a buzzard btw, says he gets the same thing. That might explain why he doesn't seem that bothered by you?

Of course, he may be completely wrong hehe!

Beautiful captures. The one with the fish is amazing!

Wow..amazing shots. Razor sharp with good details. Love the eye. Perfect, that's the word to sum up these shots. The in-flight shot is simply stunning. Excellent work. Well done.

It seems that the better beamer has worked well Keith,although it looks like it gives a kind of unnatural light to the subject.
I suposse we cann`t have everything,can we?
Still,really good capture of your friend.

Nice shots. You are so fortunate to see a red-shouldered hawk that frequently. Don't think I've seen one yet. That red shouldered hawk shot looks really good. Very nice catch on the osprey with fish too.

Nice shots of your friend. I need to get out and experiment more with the beamer myelf. Do you have the FEC turned down so as to just add fill and not serve as a primary flash ?

Looks like the Osprey caught a nice spotted seatrout.

Fantastic shots. WOW!

The third shot is immensely good.

Yes I do use it as fill flash with the beamer....., I set the 580 For High Speed Sync, Manual Zoom the head to 50mm, Use ETTL and dial in -1/3 thru -1 FEC..depending on the situation....This morning's shots had some very high shadow content from the early sun and the tree branches....I am still experimenting to see which settings give the best results. I have gotten some blown out eyes when using the beamer...I tend to cut the output of the flash more and more to try and minimize this.....Still learning and trying this thing out....


Thanks for the comments!

Very nice shots.....all 3. I have to get a beamer...on my short list. The Hawk looks awsome but that Osprey catch is wonderful. That fish with the mouth wide open had to be causing some serious drag on this flight.

super shots 3 is a gem his talons are really stuck in he wont be losing that fish in a hurry great catch by both of you
Rob.

Wow, 3 fantastic shots, very nice captures.

Alb

Great shots. Love the 3rd one.