Hawk

[hora]

I took this photo a few weekends ago, I saw this guy flying through the sky and thought I should try to take a few shots. This was my best one:


Link to Flickr

I upped the contrast a little so the hawk stands out against the sky. What do you guys think? I have a feeling the framing isn't so great, but I'm not sure if I need to crop the image. Should I crop the image? Where should I position the hawk when cropping?

Thanks!

[xxpinballxx]

I think a long landscape crop would look nice.
with the hawk in the lower left corner it would be flying into the frame.
good job catching a bird in flight I can't get it for the life of me.

[praesentire]

I've always enjoyed just watching these birds make their circles in the air. I love the way the wings are spread out like that!

I second xxpinballxx's suggestion of cropping landscape. One thing I quickly tried is rotating the frame clockwise by 7.2 degrees. That seems to even up the wings and give the bird a direction into the said landscape crop.

You've inspired me to go have another shot (no pun intended) at taking bird photos. It's on my long photo to-do list now!

[hora]

Originally Posted by xxpinballxx

I think a long landscape crop would look nice.
with the hawk in the lower left corner it would be flying into the frame.
good job catching a bird in flight I can't get it for the life of me.

Thanks, it wasn't easy. Thanks for the suggestion too, this is what I came up with:



Better?

Edit: Thanks for the comments, praesentire, I must've posted my message at the same time as you. I tried the rotation, and you're right, it does give it a better sense of direction. I don't think I'll repost my edit, I'll keep that one for my greedy self :P

[xxpinballxx]

I think it makes it a much better photo with just that little bit of adjustments.
Now adjust the shadows and contrast and hue and give the clouds a bit more of a part it would all come together.

[xxpinballxx]

[hora]

I like the crop, but that sky is a little too light for my tastes, I came up with this, the sky being a darker blue:

[RexK_Cozumel]

Well it is an interesting sky picture. The cloud formations are nice however as for the hawk it is not a very good photo. It is very far away a longer lens will help that also the hawk is very underexposed what you can do if you dont mind the PS work is expose properly for the hawk then take a second exposure of empty sky and then just overlay the hawk into the blank sky. Unfortunately it seems that these birds like to fly around with their back to the sun no matter where you are standing.

[xxpinballxx]

I think yours is the right one....I knew i went a little too bright with the blues. I was just showing the difference. I think yours is nice. I don't think the hawk is bac at all. We know what it is. Doesn't have to be a real sharp clear picture of it. I think this is a great shot.