Art was looking out the upstairs window into the backyard and spotted a Cooper's Hawk on the oak branch.
I heard his excited yell from downstairs, "Cooper's Hawk outside!"
My son-in-law, Ed and Art went scrambling for their cameras to see if they could take a photo of the big bird of prey. I grabbed mine also.
Sigh....
I'm afraid I was doing something wrong. We were all taking photos out of windows with screens. This was my photo with my new Canon SX30IS. I think my window was dirty. That's my excuse.
Ed laughed saying it's the photographer, not the camera. Easy to say when you're holding that giant piece of equipment.
I say it's the cleaner windows.
Art says, "Would you just look at his camera? Besides..." he consoled me. "You were downstairs taking the photo into the sun. We were upstairs with a better angle."
OK... maybe I'm a little mollified, but I suppose the reasons are a little or lot of everything. Ed does have a very good (alright... excellent) artistic eye AND he has a giant camera!
I heard his excited yell from downstairs, "Cooper's Hawk outside!"
My son-in-law, Ed and Art went scrambling for their cameras to see if they could take a photo of the big bird of prey. I grabbed mine also.
I'm afraid I was doing something wrong. We were all taking photos out of windows with screens. This was my photo with my new Canon SX30IS. I think my window was dirty. That's my excuse.
Here's Art's shot with his tiny Lumix. I'll bet his window was just washed.
And here's Ed's photo with his gargantuan Canon SLR!
Ed laughed saying it's the photographer, not the camera. Easy to say when you're holding that giant piece of equipment.
I say it's the cleaner windows.
Art says, "Would you just look at his camera? Besides..." he consoled me. "You were downstairs taking the photo into the sun. We were upstairs with a better angle."
OK... maybe I'm a little mollified, but I suppose the reasons are a little or lot of everything. Ed does have a very good (alright... excellent) artistic eye AND he has a giant camera!
Cool picture (Art's)! I have the same problem when taking pictures from inside. And we have a Cooper's Hawk that hangs out in the tree outside, hoping for a snack of one of my well fed birdies. :-)
ReplyDeleteInteresting comparison. But don't lose sight of the fact that you all got to see a beautiful and rare bird visitor. That in itself is exciting and rewarding.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry everybody has a bug. Hope they are better soon. Yes, I like owning a small lite camera, but G got great shots with his big one while so many of mine were awful. Wonderful bird tho.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how Ed was able to bypass the window screen and take such a great shot of the bird. My Canon PowerShot would have focused on the screen and made the bird blurry in the background -- unless the sunlight is strong.
ReplyDeleteWell, they're great shots of a beautiful bird!! I take photos from the windows in my office and bedroom, but only half of the windows have screens -- the part that opens -- the windows here in the northwest are usually quite large, but I think they're mainly for letting in as much light as possible!! Hope your week is going well, Kay!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
I hate lugging a heavy camera around, but I am also impatient at the limitations of more compact cameras. My Nikon Coolpix P100 is a good compromise.
ReplyDeleteThat is some bird, and all the photos are interesting, each in a different way.
Apparently it pays big dividends to lug around a big camera. What's the saying, You get what you pay for?" I'm not willing to pay the price. I'm too uncordinated to use a big camera. It's a challenge for me to use a small one.
ReplyDeleteWell, from what I understand, you can make those big babies focus on the hawk and ignore the screen completely. I don't really understand how or why, but it sure is great. We have so many photos Dick has taken through the dirty window and dirty screen in his office (lots of birds in summer and deer in winter at the ornamental crabapple tree) and only a few are taken so the screen can't be seen.
ReplyDeleteThere's a door right beside my desk here, with, when it's open, a view of the crabapple. But there's no window in the door. I've been begging Dick to get a new door, but to no avail.
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel
cameras certainly help but location is everything. I like your photo it is very artsy!
ReplyDeleteYour comments about Art's equipment made me laugh. I think it is the telescope. Anyway, the hawk is gorgeous. I hope he didn't eat too many songbirds. We have a hawk across the street. He lives in a Sycamore tree. Dianne
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem you do. This summer there have been so many interesting things going on at the bird feeder on the deck, but my camera doesn't begin to do justice to them.
ReplyDeleteSorry Kay, Ed's photo is brilliant, lol.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about the camera. Oh, and the light. And the photographer. And if you are inside, it's the clean windows. And don't forget about plain old luck!
ReplyDeleteman I can see it coming: I'm gonna need a giant camera!
ReplyDeleteAloha from 'back home' Honolulu;
Comfort Spiral
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Now i want a SLR too :) lol:) We have seen many amazing captures through your camera before ,i think the angel is the culprit here.
ReplyDeleteWas away visiting my mom for few days .
This post really made me smile. You are so cute in your commentary about the photos. I hate to say it, but I think it was the camera. Those SLR cameras are pretty amazing.
ReplyDeleteMr. Hawk looks like he's wearing a taro chip on his chest. Our hawks are just boring brown. Three of them circle over a suburban interstate at times playing with the vertical column of heated air from the concrete. DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking size matters. It would take a real man just to handle that monster but it does get results.
ReplyDeleteThe blurriness could be the dirty window or the position that you hold the camera in... Try tilting it slightly downward- so it doesn't pick up the glare of the window... Pointing it straight on could be why.. also hold your breath then hit that button.. any slight movement can cause blurring...
ReplyDeleteI am no expert in taking pictures but I have an older camera, had it for twenty five years.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful raptor and what a delight to photograph it, whatever the end result. (Ed's photo is good, though;-))
ReplyDelete