[Leica] RE: Doug's Cooper's Hawk

[r.s.taylor at comcast.net (Richard S. Taylor)]

Doug - Fascinating.  Makes me feel I know the hawk myself - a pretty 
amazing statement from a city guy who's idea of wildlife is pigeons, 
squirrels, rats a roaches.  ;-)

Now I feel I know enough to say, and mean - "amazing shot!"

Thanks for taking the time to write this up.

Dick

>re: http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/accipitridae/coha05.html
>
>Jim Christie < jim.christie at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>>  I just saw your Cooper's Hawk shot. Wow, what a neat shot. It is very 
>> crisp
>>  and sharp. Looks like the DMR really performs well. I presume you had to
>>  hike in to find the hawk and I presume you used a tripod. Great picture!
>
>Richard S. Taylor wrote:
>
>>  I wonder, too, if we really understand how difficult your work is to do.
>>
>>  Maybe if you included a subtitle along the lines of:  "Shot # 241 out
>>  of 243 that afternoon after waiting a couple of hours in a chilly
>>  drizzle with my feet freezing and my back aching for the damn bird to
>>  settle down and the sun to come out and finally get low enough to
>>  produce the modelling I was after,"  you'd get more reaction.  ;-)
>
>OK so I need a better story:
>
>I've been getting to know this particular hawk for a few years now 
>(and his SWMBO).  Each spring they've nested within a few hundred 
>yards of the previous year's nest so they haven't been to difficult 
>to find.  Each year they also have an area where they like to hang 
>out off the nest, generally within 200' of the nest tree.  I stay 
>away from the nest because predators can pick up my scent trail if I 
>were to visit the nest itself.
>
>The first year I could barely get within range with the 560mm lens 
>before they'd leave; get too close to the nest tree and it's bye-bye 
>scalp.  The second year they still kept their distance when perched 
>but when I'd first arrived in the area they do a couple of fly-bys 
>while I kept my scalp completely entangled in dense brush, but after 
>a few minutes it was safe to emerge from the thickets.
>
>This year the male barely even looks up when I arrive in the area - 
>maybe a half-hearted fly-by a few yards away, then he thinks no more 
>of the bearded dude with the clicking machine on a stick.
>
>Over the years the equipment I've used has evolved along with the 
>birds' response to me.  I soon learned that tripods and dense 
>understory don't mix.  I frequently have to move the camera ever so 
>slightly as the hawks hop along their perches because of the dense 
>growth in this forested area: getting a clear view of the hawks is 
>not easy.  The monopod & shoulder stock are MUCH more suited to the 
>terrain, but this setup's slow shutter speed limit can be a problem 
>in a dense forest.  I tried a 400mm f/2.8: the lens required the 
>tripod, and the DOF was much to shallow at full aperture, the huge 
>front element freaked the birds out, and I destroyed a shoulder 
>lugging it around in the forest.  High-speed films seemed the only 
>answer at the cost of grain and high contrast.
>
>The DMR has solved the film speed problem.  It's high ISO 
>performance is far better than same-speed film, and the DMR's 
>dynamic range offsets the high-contrast light under the forest 
>canopy; I can also dial back the ISO as light requires, something I 
>could do with film only by carrying several camera bodies.
>
>  Walt Johnson wrote:
>
>>  There is nothing wrong with getting up close and personal. The most
>>  important thing is to make sure your subjects feel your respect for
>>  them. They are not elements of  the composition but rather human
>>  souls. Some are better than others but when treated well they
>>  generally respond well.
>
>This paragraph of Walt's sums up my experience with the Cooper's 
>Hawks.  I had allowed them time to get to know me and they learned 
>to trust the Leica-toting guy in the camo coat because I walked 
>quietly, respected their nest space and generally demonstrated that 
>I was not a threat.
>
>The male hawk responded last Sunday in a manner that suggests that 
>Walt was writing about him:  he flew to a perch about 20' away from 
>me just above eye level in an area where I could get clear views 
>with good backgrounds.  Unfortunately the lighting was crap: mixed 
>in with the deep shade of the forest canopy there were spotlights of 
>direct sunlight through gaps in the canopy.  I waited for shadows to 
>move so that the bird and his perch were completely shaded (high ISO 
>but no big deal with the DMR);  this took a half-hour or so.  During 
>this time the hawk was completely relaxed, as you can see because 
>he's resting on one foot.  Remember I'm still only 20' away, talking 
>quietly to the hawk, fiddling with the camera, re-adjusting the 
>monopod's footing.  I made about 60 or 70 exposures, 2/3 DMR, 1/3 
>SL2 & Provia 400F.  Once I'd made enough exposures I thanked the 
>hawk and put the cameras down.  A few minutes later he flew to 
>another nearby perch.  All true.
>
>So what you see in this photo is the result to date of hundreds of 
>hours in the field, countless equipment/media experiments, and above 
>all treating my subject with respect.
>
>Doug Herr
>Birdman of Sacramento
>http://www.wildlightphoto.com
>
>
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