This is a Harris Hawk:
ISO 125 50mm f/5 1/25
I used the 50mm lens because I thought it would give me a more detailed shot. I am trying to show the lovely variations of brown that are in the feathers of this bird. They are nice, but it is hard to get enough contrast to really show what is there. The fact that it sits mostly in the shade is working against me too. Any thoughts on how you might approach it?
Cheers!
Photography Journal Blog 
maybe by using a reflector (improvised or otherwise) or even a fill flash would be worth trying.
any piece of paper or card will make an acceptable reflector I often make use of laminated menu’s found in outdoor cafe’s etc.
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Thanks for this, will have to try the flash next time and see what I can some up with. I’m not sure about a reflector, the concern there being that I am too far away from the bird. I’ll have to think about it.
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distance will just make more subtle lighting which could work well, it’s a cheap and easy thing to try
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Yes, I’ll have to see what I have that I could use.
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How about b/w post processing..??
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Actually I did try actually shooting in B&W, it is a good suggestion and I will be writing a post for it early next week. Thanks for commenting!
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Maybe a zoom (my way) and then steering after shooting with the light/shadow controller in your raw picture-converter.
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I actually haven’t tried the post processing with my RAW version, just the jpeg. This is a good thought, thanks for suggesting it.
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Sorry, can’t answer. Didn’t want you to think that I just clicked like though.
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Thanks very much for commenting 🙂
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I totally agree with Mr. Bunny Chow regarding a reflector. Bouncing fill flash off it while its at the low right would probably be the best way to go. A direct strobe at lowest power would probably wash the bird out unless it’s remotely triggered off of the camera and placed 6-10 feet away; not good if you have to be closer and the flash is mounted on your camera.
Given the shadow, you want to absorb more colour without having to use fill flash. I might try an unorthodox approach of treating a relatively still subject like it was in motion: ISO 400, 1/400 – 1/500 @ f/4.5 – f/4.
I totally get wanting to include those beautifully contrasting talons but it might be necessary to skip that and only create a close in portrait of the head and breast. The detail and saturation of colour at close range is likely to overcome much of that shadow.
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I have since been back and will be posting about two different approaches that I tried, B&W and with flash. I will have to go back again and try what you are suggesting in terms of shooting like the bird is in motion. I curious to see what I get. Thanks for your comments.
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Photoshop, where you can do just about anything you want to that picture.
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🙂
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