Getting the Shot

Patience is probably the most underrated skill in wildlife photography. This image is a good example of why. Walking down a wetland berm road one morning, I spotted a Red-shouldered Hawk perched on a dead tree ahead of me. A static shot of a hawk in a tree is not as exciting as catching the moment it takes off, so I waited. The camera and lens combination I use, a Sony A1 with a 200-600mm telephoto, is not light, so I’d raise the camera, hold it until my arms protested, lower it to rest, then raise it again, hoping I'd be quick enough if it took off while I rested my arms. The whole time, the back of my mind I'm thinking what if it just flies the other way? Eventually, patience paid off. The hawk lifted off the branch and flew directly toward me and I was ready. With "bird in flight" shots I'm trying to catch 1/2000 of a second.