The Swainson’s Hawk is a majestic bird of prey that can be found in open grasslands. This incredible bird migrates from southern Argentina to as far north as northern Alaska, with northern Mexico accounting for its southernmost summer grounds. The beady-eyed raptor scours open areas for rodents, rabbits, reptiles, and even insects and dragonflies. This beauty of a buteo was found in the National Elk Refuge, where I most frequently encounter them.
How I Processed It
Due to the overcast sky when I took the shot, as well as the overall dark makeup of the bird, I opted for a more high-key processing of the image. This helped the subdued tones of the Swainson’s Hawk pop out a bit more over a minimal and bright background, allowing the bird’s colors to speak for themselves. A bit of noise-reduction was also required due to the fact that the raptor took me by surprise, having accidentally left my ISO higher than it needed to be from earlier in the morning when there was less light.
The settings for this shot were an aperture of f/8, ISO 5000, and a shutter speed of 1/5000 of a second. Had I been better prepared, the shutter speed could have easily been closer to 1/1600 of a second, given that the hawk was merely soaring above and not necessarily engaged in any fast-moving action. As a result, my ISO could have been much lower as well, closer to 1600 which wouldn’t have required the use of noise reduction.