Finally, a photo of a red-tail hawk that isn’t just a dark blob against the background of a washed-out sky!

I learn the hard way…and the lesson I learned yesterday was to pay attention to the shutter speed, even with still photos.  What they say about the shutter speed being the inverse of the focal length is very true — I have far too many bland and blurry photos to prove it.  Now I have some much better ones!

Nice, clear light helped, too, but I even managed to get a good backlit photo, one that was sharp enough to crop a bit so as to enhance the rimlight.

These aren’t perfect but they are a heckuva lot better now that I know a little about shutter speed, focal length — and ISO.  Mine is now set to automatic but only allows ISO up to 800.  Maybe I will get braver as my focusing improves 😉

Next I will have to work with eliminating shadows…maybe with a fill flash (I can see all you nature photographers shuddering!)  Or maybe I will learn to live with the nuances of the natural setting, shadows being only one of them.

Oh, and keeping a tight aperture helps, too.  Who needs bokeh when you have a nice, sharp depth of field!

All-in-all, I’d say yesterday was a good day.  Here’s hoping for more of them!