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Photographic Advice
by Dan Simon
A Great Horned Owl photographed at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary's
"Raptors up Close" presentation. ©GreenWorks
photo by Dan Simon
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Photographing raptors in flight is a difficult challenge even for
professional photographers, working with the latest high-tech equipment
and big telephoto lenses. For the average person with a point and
shoot camera, it's darn near impossible.
On the other hand, sites such as the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary frequently
present a "Raptors up Close" type of program where an expert
shows a couple of its captive birds. During this presentation, viewers
can get within five or 10 feet (if seated in the first row) of a Great
Horned Owl or a Red Tailed Hawk. During this time, it's possible for
even a basic point and shoot camera with a modest telephoto lens to
get striking images.
Red tailed hawk. ©GreenWorks photo by Dan Simon
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Take lots of photos and make sure at least a few of your images are
as tightly framed as possible to provide a good look at the raptor's
face.
Finally, don't forget to capture other aspects of a visit to someplace
like the sanctuary. The birders are sometimes as interesting as the
birds, so take some shots of everyone peering through their binoculars.
If you're into sunrises, the North Lookout provides the best vantage
point. For sunsets, the mountain has a Sunset Overlook, but be warned,
the trail requires scrambling over large rocks. It's not an easy trail!
All of the images on this page were made with the equivalent of a
140-320 mm zoom lens.
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