Hunter

Hunter

NCAR10D-425

August 2010

Moving back closer to home, this is a beautiful red-tailed hawk from the Carolina Raptor Center.  These rehabilitated birds are given homes, as well as an opportunity to educate the public.  He is so graceful looking, but you could tell from the way he moves and acts that he was a hunter, able to snatch treats out of mid-air if you tossed them high enough.  I don't usually do a lot of wildlife photography, due to a lack of lenses and big gear, but this center gives a unique opportunity to engage with these birds of prey on an intimate level, especially during the daily viewings.  Enjoy.
 

Technical notes:

Camera: NIkon D80

Lens: Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8

Focal length: 200 mm

Exposure: 1/200   f/4.5 

Post-processing: Slight texture,toning and curves adjustment in PS4

Peacocks Fighting

Peacocks Fighting

SFRA07D-38

April 8, 2007

This scene was grabbed at the San Francisco Zoo.  Peacocks are usually seen as such docile creatures, strutting around with their iridescent necks and big plummage.  They kind of just walk around, without much fuss.  But these two males clearly had it in for each other.  They stalked round and round in a circle, and then all of a sudden they ranged up and clashed, squawking and flapping at each other.  It was quite a unique scene, their long tails draping to the ground as the leaped at one another.  They clearly have some good hops too, they're probably 4 feet off of the ground below.  But I was lucky to be there at the right moment, and it has since become my most viewed image when I posted it on Flickr ages ago (despite it not being my best image ever created).  I guess people just love a good cock fight.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 80-200 f/2.8

Focal length:  200 mm

Exposure: 1/2000 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 200

Post-processing: Minor curves adjustment in PS4 & LR1.4