Too Far, Too Close! Ah, Nature at its Finest!

[Loupey]

So during my walk through the fields yesterday hunting meadowlarks, I notice about 7 RT hawks circling this field of about 30 acres. Of course they are never where I would like them to be - always soaring to a new, far away part of the field.

So I'm walking and (as usual) spinning around trying to keep tabs on all the hawks. Then, I spot this one flying directly at me from an adjacent field. After bumping up the ISO from 400 (for stationary meadowlarks) to 800 so that I could go up to 1/500s, I shot the first image below.

After I got the 2nd image, I figured he was going to continue flying. But to my delight, he circled me twice directly overhead (and lower than I've ever been able to film) before spiraling away. Had I not seen his initial approach, I probably wouldn't have even known that he was just above me. Goes to show that you've got to be prepared and know how to handle the camera/settings in the heat of the moment.

These 4 images show the progression of our chance meeting in order. All with the 300mm+2x. All uncropped full-frame images to show the closeness of the event.

Thanks for looking. Yeah, manual focus on these too

[Copy_Kot]

That third shot is just amazing! They all are... but that third one... amazing!

[big baldo]

Ya, I have agree, the third one is outstanding!!!:thumbsup: You can eve see the feathers overlap on his tail

[karen m.]

I love the 3rd one too! They are all wonderful

[Bevb]

Another great group of images.

[Loupey]

Thanks for looking! I was eager to share these as the hawk and I made a "connection" (is that weird?) for a brief moment. At this close distance, I could see through the viewfinder him watching me watching him.

It lasted 30 seconds, and I don't recall hearing a sound (not even the shutter).

[Jaedon]

Awesome experience Loupey. Thanks for sharing it with us. And as usual superb images.

I had a close encounter yesterday but I was without camera. A RT buzzed my truck as I was on an on ramp to the hwy. He passed within about 5 feet of the windshield. Fortunately for both of us we missed each other. My wife screamed because she was anticipating the impact.

Now if I had had a camera in hand... imagine the shots lol.

[Loupey]

My wife screamed because she was anticipating the impact.

Now if I had had a camera in hand... imagine the shots lol.

That would have been a sweet shot. I definitely don't have any of my wife screaming

[Jaedon]

LOL those shots would've been nice too. I don't have any of your wife screaming either =P.

Mine on the other hand... I got a shot of her screaming as a cold wave washed up behind her and straight up the butt lol.

But back to the regularly scheduled thread.

[OBie]

Way cool Loupey. And I most definitely am not at that stage yet where I could react and reset the camera. Mostly my preparation for a series of photos goes something like this:

Ummm. Let's see. ISO - OK - 400 should be good. What shutter speed do I need? Hmm. I think 1/250 might be fast enough, but can I still get the DOF I need? OK, if I set it to 1/250, what aper. do I get? Maxing out. Not good. Maybe if I lower the SS to 125, let's see, OK, better. But dang I wish I had a faster lens! OK. I'll try this and take a test shot. *click* Ick. Oh crap! I forgot to set the meter! Maybe I need a spot meter here. I wonder what other settings I've forgotten?

And on and on it goes . . .