Cloudy day Redtail


Posted by Jim Zipp on Wed Oct 22, 2003 7:47 am

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On Sunday morning I got up at 1:30AM, drove 225 miles to a place near Hawk Mt in PA. Met a friend and made an hour and a half straight uphill hike to a hawk banding station atop a ridge. We were met with almost solid overcas sky's and few hawks. This one redtail drifted in close just as a small hole appeared in the clouds covering the sun and light him up. This is one of my favorite shooting conditions when there is good light on the subject but stormy clouds in the background. Hope you like it.

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Last edited by Jim Zipp on Wed Oct 22, 2003 1:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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by Rocky Sharwell on Wed Oct 22, 2003 8:04 am
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Jim:

I agree with you on the stormy clouds and good light--I think your efforts were well worth it. Give me one good bird (and a photograph of it) than 100 lousy birds any day.....
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by Bill Whala on Wed Oct 22, 2003 8:56 am
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Lovely wingspread. The direction he is looking makes me wonder what he sees.

Super sweet!!
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by AlexC on Wed Oct 22, 2003 9:00 am
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Magnificent creatures, and great fliers, I agree with the cloudy BG and a touch of light on the subject, some of the most amazing images are capture that way!!, Very nice!! Congrats!!! 8)
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by E.J. Peiker on Wed Oct 22, 2003 9:11 am
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In the many that I see around here, especially in the winter time, I have never seen one with a tail this brightly colored - what an awesome specimen and a great photo.
 

by RichardMittleman/Gon2Foto on Wed Oct 22, 2003 9:32 am
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I haven't seen tons of red-tailed hawks in my life, but the ones that I have seen have never had a tail this red. Is it the lighting, or is this an unusual bird?
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by Alan Murphy on Wed Oct 22, 2003 9:50 am
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Jim,

Incredible position of the bird. Love the sky with the light clouds.

Fantastic.
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by Wil Hershberger on Wed Oct 22, 2003 10:10 am
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Wonderful image. The lighting couldn't be better. Well worth all of your efforts.
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by Alan Melle on Wed Oct 22, 2003 10:14 am
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Awesome! Great angle on this beautiful bird. Not much doubt as to why they are called Red-tailed Hawks. I think a bit more USM would help.
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by Neil Solomon on Wed Oct 22, 2003 10:24 am
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Great wing position and the color of those tail feathers is amazing. There are a large number of red-tails in the San Diego area and I'm sure I've never seen a tail quite that red before. Perhaps its just the nature of the light at the moment the image was captured. Looks great.
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by Rob Palmer on Wed Oct 22, 2003 10:46 am
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Jim, great shot. I really like the light hitting the bird and the dark background. You captured the essence of the "Red Tailed" Hawk.
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by ajhand on Wed Oct 22, 2003 10:59 am
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Jim:

I like the way the curve of the wing's leading edge frames the turned head. That dark background really brings out the red in the tail.You flight shots always have dynamic angles and curves and this one is no exception.
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by Bill Keown on Wed Oct 22, 2003 12:33 pm
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Absolutely gorgeous. Very nicely captured. That is certainly a brighly colored tail on this bird.

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by Ken Cravillion on Wed Oct 22, 2003 12:47 pm
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Awesome shot.
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by Jim Zipp on Wed Oct 22, 2003 1:16 pm
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RichardMittleman/Gon2Foto wrote:I haven't seen tons of red-tailed hawks in my life, but the ones that I have seen have never had a tail this red. Is it the lighting, or is this an unusual bird?
I would have to agree with you on this. I have many hundreds of images of redtails.... maybe over a thousand... and I also have never seen one with a tail like this. I can assure you that I did NO post processing on the tail or added any saturation to accent this. I think it was mostly the quality of the light along with the dark background. I was with Brian Wheeler (who knows more about hawks than most ever will) at the time and we both remarked how much that red tail stood out against that background.
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by Steve Mason on Wed Oct 22, 2003 1:24 pm
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Gorgeous.
Love the dark sky background.
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by Bob Ettinger on Wed Oct 22, 2003 2:29 pm
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Jim,

That was a lot of work but this image is really well done. Love the tail and the light.
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by Brian L. Zwiebel on Wed Oct 22, 2003 3:30 pm
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Hi Jim,

It's all here, the beautiful red tail, the top side view and the sweeping arc created by the wing position.

Just doesn't get any better than this!!

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by Paul Fusco on Wed Oct 22, 2003 4:47 pm
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Cool shot, Jim!
I love the angle and the BG.

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by Anthony Medici on Wed Oct 22, 2003 5:25 pm
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Is THAT why they call the "Redtailed"? I don't think I've ever seen them from above like this. Nicely done. :D
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