As I drove to the gym this morning, I thought about my “In Focus Daily” blog and how I want to modify it. I have yet to come up with a concrete plan, so for now, I’ll post every day and take photos every day. And, I will continue to carry my camera with me everywhere…at least for now. It has become such a part of me that I can’t imagine being somewhere without the means to photograph something interesting or compelling that I see around me.
Today’s photo is a case in point. As I was about to walk into the gym, a large bird flew low over the rooftop and over my head toward a tree in the parking lot. I recognized the bird as a juvenile Cooper’s hawk, probably the same one I’ve observed many times perched in a tree on the gym patio at this time of the morning. Instead of going into the gym, I set my gear down, opened my bag and extracted my camera. I had my 24-70mm lens on the camera so I took a few seconds to make some exposure adjustments and started to walk slowly toward the tree where the bird sat, awaiting some sort of prey. He was my prey, as I stalked gradually closer. I knew he would leave the tree before I could get close enough for a crisp clear shot, but I kept inching closer. I got within about 25 feet of him before he flew out of the tree. I wasn’t able to capture any decent shots of his escape flight but I’m happy with what I got. This is cropped significantly. And, if I hadn’t had my camera with me, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to capture this. So, for now, anyway, the camera will still be a part of me.
Fantastic capture!!! And of course you know exactly what kind of hawk- you are amazing! And of course you should continue to take your camera everywhere!
Wow! Great shot. I wish you had been in WI when Chris and I watched one on our front lawn eat his kill. We were so close and he didn’t fly away. More birds this year. Maybe because more water. I got a 23 inch red!