Three years ago, while trying to get my rangefinder Leica M10 to do the things I usually captured with my DSLR, this hawk landed on a fence post in front of me. I got as close as I dared, and the only focus on that camera is manual focus, with a split-image rangefinder. I captured several images, some of which I posted here long ago. In reviewing my images, I prefer this simple image. My brother thought the hawk was collecting material for building a nest - he got a lot closer to it than I was able to do. I think this shot was taken with my 135mm telephoto. I liked the bird, I liked the colors, and for reasons I don’t understand, the hawk gave me all the time in the world to compose my photos.
The photos I edited in 2021 look awful to me now. I understand why people were telling me my copyright notice was ruining the photos - obviously I’m a slow learner. For better or worse, I tried to focus on the eyes. Most shots worked, but in retrospect I got the focus wrong on many others - that, or the camera moved. That the feet were pointing away from me, and that the head is pivoted around 180 degrees still looks strange to me.
