{"id":51490,"date":"2018-04-02T05:57:13","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T11:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=51490"},"modified":"2026-01-19T11:07:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T17:07:19","slug":"i-would-love-to-photograph-this-red-tailed-hawk-in-good-light-just-once","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/04\/02\/i-would-love-to-photograph-this-red-tailed-hawk-in-good-light-just-once\/","title":{"rendered":"I Would Love To Photograph THIS Red-tailed Hawk In Good Light Just Once"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Red-tailedRed-tailed Hawk lifting off in poor light – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/800, ISO 1600, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve photographed this particular Red-tailed Hawk before and shared it on a post titled “Cruddy Light, Cloudy Skies Plus a Red-tailed Hawk<\/span><\/a>“where I bemoaned the cruddy light, slow shutter speed and the cloudy skies that didn’t show up on three different radar\/satellite images that hung around and practically ruined the morning near the end of March.<\/p>\n

So I was in the same area yesterday morning, saw the same red-tailed Hawk and had very similar conditions because of clouds hanging over the mountains to the east that were blocking the sun. I could see clearer skies to the north but not<\/em> on this bird. I could see clearer skies to the south but not<\/em> on this bird.<\/p>\n

This particular Red-tailed Hawk has such a striking appearance and not one of the photos I have taken of it thus far show just how freaking gorgeous it actually is. I could share more images of this hawk that I took yesterday here this morning but what is the sense of doing that when none of them are up to my standards or do this bird justice?<\/p>\n

Since I have seen this handsome Red-tailed Hawk<\/span><\/a> several times now; and I do know it is the same bird because it is so striking, I will simply have to try to photograph it again and hope that the bird photography gods bestow me with better light, some marginally decent light or even the perfect “golden light” that I’m always seeking.<\/p>\n

I cursed those clouds that blocked the sun more than once yesterday, I’m cursing them this morning. Bird photography isn’t easy and there are plenty of frustrations to deal with as a bird photographer. Or so I’ve heard.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This particular Red-tailed Hawk has such a striking appearance and not one of the photos I have taken of it thus far show just how freaking gorgeous it actually is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":167249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1148,449,26],"tags":[2663,4170,4052,4122,4033,4169,2386,156,153,5414,4209,4057],"class_list":["post-51490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-red-tailed-hawks","category-utah","tag-birds-of-prey","tag-buteo-jamaicensis","tag-flight","tag-flying","tag-hawk","tag-hawks","tag-hawks-of-utah","tag-low-light-2","tag-raptors","tag-red-tail","tag-red-tailed-hawk","tag-sagebrush"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-adult-rufous-mia-mcpherson-1825.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-dou","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":106793,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/10\/04\/red-tailed-hawk-waiting-for-the-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":51490,"position":0},"title":"Red-tailed Hawk Waiting For The Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"My favorite of the hawks I photographed in the West Desert yesterday was this adult Red-tailed Hawk on a fence post waiting for the morning light.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk waiting for the morning light, West Desert, Tooele County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-before-dawns-light-mia-mcpherson-8034.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-before-dawns-light-mia-mcpherson-8034.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-nestbox-mia-mcpherson-0726.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-nestbox-mia-mcpherson-0726.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-nestbox-mia-mcpherson-0726.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/red-tailed-hawk-immature-nestbox-mia-mcpherson-0726.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51378,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/25\/cruddy-light-cloudy-skies-plus-a-red-tailed-hawk\/","url_meta":{"origin":51490,"position":3},"title":"Cruddy Light, Cloudy Skies Plus a Red-tailed Hawk","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I would have been totally skunked yesterday if I hadn't spotted the top of this Red-tailed Hawk's head and some wing movement where it was buried in a sagebrush next to a hillside.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Red-tailed Hawk landing on sage in low light, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-landing-sagebrush-mia-mcpherson-9284.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/red-tailed-hawk-landing-sagebrush-mia-mcpherson-9284.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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