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Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 12:52 AM
Last Sunday a bunch of us got together for some rabbit hawkin'. As sometimes happens a HORDE of people showed up. We ended up having 10 birds to fly (Greg and I were just spectators-Bijou had caught her first pheasant the day before so was way overweight). We started out with the new apprentices-there were three who were flying their first birds, so they were up first. Jason was up first and his bird Sunny did fantastic, bagging their 2nd bunny in a really nice flight that ended with the bird and rabbit sliding 20 feet down a hill. He was a beautiful little bird with a very photogenic personality. I got lots of nice pics of him:)
Next up was another apprentice with his first bird(Blake maybe? I don't remember ever meeting him before and wasn't introduced, so I'm guessing). His bird also did very well, but we ran out of field before she managed to catch one. With all the birds to fly he eventually left the group to go fly her on his own (I think, it's hard to keep track of people when there's SO many-I think there were 17 total if I counted right, though not all were there at the same time). Next up was another newbie, Carol, and her first redtail. He didn't want to play with the group, but he did come down once we all left and gave him some space. Unfortunately she fed him up so we didn't get a chance to see him fly later. We'd only gotten one bunny up for him. Because she wasn't sure how he'd do with the crowd she had him on the fist and she didn't see the bunny till well after he'd started bating so he just went up to a tree.
Next up was Geoff with his once (?)intermewed redtail. We got a bit of a hassle from a security guard when we pulled into the parking lot next to the hunting spot, but he eventually gave us permission to hunt the woodlot next to his building. We had to put the camera's away though. I don't know what he thought we were going to take pics of (the side of the building???), but he was very concerned about it. To make it even worse, we didn't see a single rabbit or squirrel:P
We decided to head to a different part of town. While we filled one of the tires with air and the boys (Greg and Dave) got some lunch the rest of the group caught a rabbit with Grant's ? intermewed redtail Abby. Since Geoff hadn't gotten any rabbits up for his bird Kyra he was pulling his bird out when we arrived. It wasn't more than a couple minutes before we spotted a bunny. Greg stood over a hole and the beaters flushed the bunny perfectly! I had a perfect, clear shot of the bird as she connected with the rabbit from only 25 feet away (a perfect distance!)...or I WOULD have if Geoff hadn't leaped between us. No weeds, or anything in the way, just a bit of snow. Arggggghhhh!!!! Stupid falconers!!! That would've been the shot of the year! Instead of getting the perfect shot of the hawk slamming the rabbit, I got a blurry shot of Geoff's back. I'll be grumbling about that for the rest of the year, if not longer. Sigh. We put her away and went down the street a ways and got out the harris hawks. We managed to kick up a few bunnies, but they couldn't seal the deal. Next up was Tuna's once intermewed redtail at a different spot. This spot had plenty of rabbits but the cover was pretty thick. Eventually we got separated. The bird went across a building and a bunch of us waited for the bird and other folks to come back, but apparently they just kept going. Maybe a half hour-hour later we got a call that they'd gotten a rabbit and were heading back. Dave got his once intermewed "project" redtail ready to go, so when they got back we were ready to put her up. He got out Pepper, his blue heeler and we started working a spot across the street when they got back to us. Before we got too far, though, Pepper managed to catch a bunny that was cornered in a hole/woodpile. The bird wasn't too interested in playing with the crowd, so Dave called it down and had it jump on the bunny Pepper had caught to reinforce that crowds were good things. The sun was getting low by then, so the rest of the group went to go pull the harrises out again. When Dave finished with the redtail we rejoined them and Dave got out his female harris too. Heather's wire-haired dachsund, Quiche, was working some brushpiles and eventually managed to flush out a bunny that Dave's female harris caught. The dachsund managed to pull another bunny out of a hole after we were done hawkin' and were packing up to leave:) All in all, a very good day. 10 birds flown, 5 rabbits in the bag (not counting the dog's bunnies).



Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 01:21 AM
Heather's two male harris hawks (Connelly and ?) and Dave's (roper) female harris Sadie.
Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 01:23 AM
Carol and her RT, Blake's (?) RT, and two of Tuna's redtail.
HunterPaul
02-02-2008, 01:24 AM
yet again tasha... astounding photographs.... HP
Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 01:24 AM
In that second pic, Grant THOUGHT the bird would get the rabbit:lol: The bird made it squeal, but it somehow got away-so close! :P
Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 01:27 AM
Sunny really liked the camera-lol. He was a cute little guy!
Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 01:28 AM
yet again tasha... astounding photographs.... HP

Thanks:) A couple of them are Greg's, though:lol:
Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 01:31 AM
Oh, I forgot to mention! We had a mature adult bald eagle and an adult cooper's hawk buzz us, too!
HunterPaul
02-02-2008, 01:32 AM
you should write a book with accompanying photos, not a book on how to learn falconry, we have enough of them, but a book about falconry... the exploits of a falconer.. with pics, it would be great, Id buy it.... HP
Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 01:37 AM
A cardinal (spotted while we were waiting for Carol's bird to come down); Pepper creeping up (he was told to lay down, but he wanted to go to Dave-he WAS still laying down-lol); Geoff's redtail Kyra on her bunny; Sunny again.
Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 01:40 AM
you should write a book with accompanying photos, not a book on how to learn falconry, we have enough of them, but a book about falconry... the exploits of a falconer.. with pics, it would be great, Id buy it.... HP

Someday maybe:) I want to get more of a variety of bird pics first before I try to do something like that. But, the thought has crossed my mind:oops: I don't have hardly any falcon or goshawk pics and I could use a lot more really good redtail action shots and...you get the idea I'm sure:lol:
HeatherG
02-02-2008, 03:15 AM
Wow Tasha!!!!! You are so good and You too Greg!!!!! Once again you got a pic that is soooooo special! Quiche maybe retired???? Only time will tell! Not sure If I want you out taking pics of my critters anymore:rolleyes::rolleyes: Only kidding!! The pics are wonderful....and I second the suggestion of the book...you guys have the talent!!!:supz:
Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 03:21 AM
Wow Tasha!!!!! You are so good and You too Greg!!!!! Once again you got a pic that is soooooo special! Quiche maybe retired???? Only time will tell! Not sure If I want you out taking pics of my critters anymore:rolleyes::rolleyes: Only kidding!! The pics are wonderful....and I second the suggestion of the book...you guys have the talent!!!:supz:

Thanks Heather:oops: What happened with Quiche?!! She looked great on Sunday!
HeatherG
02-02-2008, 03:35 AM
She had a herniated disc that pushed on her spine. She had back surgery at the U on tuesday, and still has no movement in her rear....they say that it will come back but only time will tell. It just reminds me to enjoy every minute with the birds and hawks cause it can all change sooo fast!!!;) Thank you for all the pics!!!
JasonS
02-02-2008, 04:10 AM
Tasha and Greg, those are some great pictures!
Thanks for sharing
Gaz
02-02-2008, 05:48 AM
Nice job you two:supz:
Sorry about Quiche H..:roll:..:(
harrishawker1
02-02-2008, 06:26 AM
Sounds like some real good hawkin....
Rufus T
02-02-2008, 06:33 AM
Briliant pics as usual Tasha & Greg.
Dude
02-02-2008, 07:19 AM
Hi Tash! Great pics as always :) !
JayHawk
02-02-2008, 08:07 AM
as ever QUALITY tasha:supz:

nice 1

jay
Coen
02-02-2008, 09:04 AM
As usual, cracking shots Natasha !

Coen
Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 11:27 AM
Thanks guys:D
Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 11:30 AM
She had a herniated disc that pushed on her spine. She had back surgery at the U on tuesday, and still has no movement in her rear....they say that it will come back but only time will tell. It just reminds me to enjoy every minute with the birds and hawks cause it can all change sooo fast!!!;) Thank you for all the pics!!!

Wow, I'm SO sorry to hear that Heather! That sucks-she's such a great little rabbit dog:cry: I hope she recovers soon. Have you kept any of her pups? I remember you were thinking about keeping one of them...
SakerJack
02-02-2008, 11:43 AM
great photos,, look forward to seeing more next week..
Tasha55403
02-02-2008, 11:47 AM
:supz: I'll be taking loads of pics at the meet, though no guarantee I'll get anything really good:) Are you driving down or flying (I'm guessing driving)?
JohnA
02-02-2008, 12:40 PM
Wonderful pictures!! Question, though. How do you manage to have them turn out so well when you post. I usually have to reduce the size and resolution so much to load them that mine turn out grainy, with the colors bleeding out. Is there a trick to it? Not so great with computers, I'm afraid.

Cheers

John
Cesena
02-02-2008, 01:11 PM
Nice pics
Thanks
SakerJack
02-02-2008, 01:46 PM
:supz: I'll be taking loads of pics at the meet, though no guarantee I'll get anything really good:) Are you driving down or flying (I'm guessing driving)?

I am driving down on the 8th,, should be there early afternoon, look forward to it..
GregMik
02-02-2008, 01:56 PM
Wonderful pictures!! Question, though. How do you manage to have them turn out so well when you post. I usually have to reduce the size and resolution so much to load them that mine turn out grainy, with the colors bleeding out. Is there a trick to it? Not so great with computers, I'm afraid.

Cheers

John

We use Photoshop. I use Elements and Tasha uses CS1. We crop, then reduce the size to around 700X500 or so. Then save on a medium Jpeg setting. You can see what the size of the file will be as you move the quality bar for the jpeg setting.

What software are you using to process your pics?

Greg
Malcolm Edgar
02-02-2008, 02:01 PM
Simply cracking photos Greg and Tasha thanks for sharing them.
Cheers
M
Q8e
02-02-2008, 02:20 PM
Amazing photos Tasha and Greg. What kind of camera do you use and how much is the cost approximately?
MichaelBeran
02-02-2008, 02:21 PM
Tasha, Greg,

You all always look like your having as much fun as can possibly be had! I always tell folks that come out with us that other people pay a lot of money to have that much fun!
GregMik
02-02-2008, 02:31 PM
Amazing photos Tasha and Greg. What kind of camera do you use and how much is the cost approximately?


Did you see my signature?:yawinkle::lol: I have had that sig for 2 yrs now....

You may want to check out this thread....

http://www.falconryforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28947

We both use 20D's, I have a Canon 70-200L F2.8 and Tasha has a 100-400L F4.5-5.6

Right now you can pick up a 20D used for less than $500US and the lenses are about $1200US for mine new and $1400US for Tasha's new.


Hope that helps,

Greg
GregMik
02-02-2008, 02:32 PM
Tasha, Greg,

You all always look like your having as much fun as can possibly be had! I always tell folks that come out with us that other people pay a lot of money to have that much fun!


That is what it is all about isn't it Mike?
Q8e
02-02-2008, 03:46 PM
Sorry Greg I never been to your site. I will look at it in detail as i just glanced at it quickly right now. I didnt know what kind of link it was so i didnt visit it sorry

so thats around 1.5 grand for a good camera setup.
GregMik
02-02-2008, 04:06 PM
Sorry Greg I never been to your site. I will look at it in detail as i just glanced at it quickly right now. I didnt know what kind of link it was so i didnt visit it sorry

so thats around 1.5 grand for a good camera setup.

Your pics can only be as good as your glass. The better the glass does not necessarily mean good pics tho. Practice is what makes quality pics. With digital it is allot easier to get the practice. If I were you I would get a lens that is longer than the 70-200. I don't like it and am looking to upgrade.




You can get good pics from other lenses also. We started with a Canon 100-300, that we sold to Frootdog, that takes good pics. Look here to see some of the pics he and hawkerdivergirl are getting.



http://www.falconryforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=39009



The 100-300 retails for about $250. And if you shop around on e-bay and such, you should be able to get a 20d and that lens for less than $600. Frootdog is using a Rebel XT, and those are going cheaper than the 20d's right now. They just came out with a Rebel XSi that is 12mp while the 20d is only a 8mp cam.




Greg
Chicken Hawk
02-02-2008, 04:36 PM
Top thread :supz:
Tasha55403
03-02-2008, 03:34 AM
Thanks guys, I try to get nice pics for y'all...sometimes I succeed:D
roper
03-02-2008, 04:19 AM
great story // absolutely fantastic photos... print the one of pepper with his mussle full of snow and I will gladly pay you handsomely and or the harris I would gladly pay you tuesday for a photo today .. says wimpy from Poppi the sailor man.
roper
03-02-2008, 04:23 AM
just to clear things up they are not using the cameras they say they are .. one is using a camera in her phone and greg is using a camera that you buy in the gas station that when your done you just throw away..


it has nothing to do with the cameras , , they just have that much talent.
Jeese don't you guys know nothin....???:P:P:rolleyes:
Tasha55403
03-02-2008, 04:35 AM
Pmsl, you're funny Dave:lol:
I think we can work something out with the pics, Dave:) The one of Sadie coming out of the tree is nice and sharp...how big would you like it? It'll go all the way up to 13x19. The other one of Sadie probably wouldn't look good even as a 8x10-it's just not sharp enough (for me, anyways).
The one of Pepper is ok. It's sharp, but a bit grainy because it was getting dark. I can print that one out for you if you want, or I could just take another portrait in better light sometime, too:) With some decent light I could get something much nicer for you:D
JohnA
03-02-2008, 12:11 PM
We use Photoshop. I use Elements and Tasha uses CS1. We crop, then reduce the size to around 700X500 or so. Then save on a medium Jpeg setting. You can see what the size of the file will be as you move the quality bar for the jpeg setting.

What software are you using to process your pics?

Greg

Hi Greg,

I'm not sure exactly which program is reducing the size, whether it's Windows or my viewer. I have never used Photoshop, though I know a lot of people do. Does it save the quality better. I just found that in order to upload, I had to reduce the size to about 80k, which I think is the problem. I use two different cameras depending on what kind of terrain I'm walking through. I have a Canon Rebel XT 8 megapixel, and an Olympus digital pocket camera, just for convenience. What quality setting are you using when you take the pictures? High quality or low for quick shooting?

Thank

John
Sean D
03-02-2008, 12:21 PM
Stunning pics:supz:
Darlin211
03-02-2008, 01:12 PM
Great pictures as always ... I like your web site :)
Tasha55403
03-02-2008, 02:52 PM
Hi Greg,

I'm not sure exactly which program is reducing the size, whether it's Windows or my viewer. I have never used Photoshop, though I know a lot of people do. Does it save the quality better. I just found that in order to upload, I had to reduce the size to about 80k, which I think is the problem. I use two different cameras depending on what kind of terrain I'm walking through. I have a Canon Rebel XT 8 megapixel, and an Olympus digital pocket camera, just for convenience. What quality setting are you using when you take the pictures? High quality or low for quick shooting?

Thank

John

To upload to the forum jpegs need to be 97.7kb or less. I always take pics on the highest quality possible (for falconry-Large Fine Jpegs on the 20D, for more static birding shots where speed isn't as important-RAW). You can always reduce the quality after they're downloaded to the computer for posting on the web, but you can't increase the quality after the pic is taken.
I use Photoshop for editing my pics, but this is supposed to be a pretty good free photo editing software you can download
http://picasa.google.com/
Tasha55403
03-02-2008, 06:08 PM
Great pictures as always ... I like your web site :)

Thank you:) One of the things I want to get done this spring is to get a new website up and running. That one is overfull on pics so we can't put anything new on it:-|
FrootDog
04-02-2008, 09:21 AM
You can get good pics from other lenses also. We started with a Canon 100-300, that we sold to Frootdog, that takes good pics. Look here to see some of the pics he and hawkerdivergirl are getting.



http://www.falconryforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=39009



Greg

This thread has better/more pics. mostly from hawkerdivergal

http://www.falconryforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=762391#post762391