During my daughter's birthday party (the kids were eating cake and ice cream), I saw a signature swoop in my back yard. I KNEW it was a hawk and ran to the window (you know, just so the kids could be like "um, what's wrong Mrs. O'Hare"), and my eye went to my fence. A red-shouldered hawk (see that banded tale--that's how you know!).
So like any self-respecting, very giddy photographer who had a card stuck in the computer from loading photos from the party and the wrong lens on her camera, I ran upstairs, got card, ran downstairs, switched to zoom lens, then came into kitchen to announce to 7 girls they are to be absolutely SILENT while I opened the door. And then I gave them that crazy bird lady look that means, "really, you better be SILENT" and they were silent (and silently giggling at their friend's mother).
I stepped out, and realized my settings were on manual and all off. CRAP. So I quickly decided to go for sport mode, and I stuck with manual focus because I wanted to get as good as I could get. And dang if this fantastic hawk posed for me as I slowly approached.
Talk about being so happy. The kids all moved on with the party, but I came back in so ecstatic and thanked them for being so cooperative. And, yes, a few of them gasped and ohhhed and awed at the shot.
Crazy bird lady in the house! And my daughter is 12. Joy, Joy, Joy in June!
Oh my gosh -- what an amazing amazing amazing capture!! The bokeh in the background, the clear bird, the challenges just to get the shot, and that you got that many girls at the age of 12 to be silent. Truly awesome! And FAV!
I don't know which I like better -- your story or your photo. I guess the fav is for both. My daughters would have been absolutely mortified if I'd done that! From 11 or 12 until about 16 they had many rules about what I could and couldn't do or say in front of their friends - not that I always followed the rules!
I'm also a crazy bird lady lol ... My fiance got a super shot of one of these as well and I was like a giddy school girl when he showed it to me - bummed it wasn't me that took the picture, but happy it was taken nonetheless. I found a love with taking photos of birds - always beautiful and never the same shots. I even created a page on Facebook just for my birds photos cause I had so many :)
July 8th, 2014
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