From what I can see of it, it looks more like a red-tailed hawk to me, but I'm no expert.
You say you purchased it three months ago, so I'm guessing this is not the problem, but if it happens to be an older one that had sat on the shelf, it could be one of the ones that was recalled for service.
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/5885395870/nikon-announces-new-firmware-for-300mm-f4-vr-to-fix-blur-at-certain-shutter-speeds
I had bought one of them, and also found it to be blurry sporadically. I returned it to the store and got one with a serial number for after the fix, and it works fine. The difference in weight is a real help!
That setup really paid off! You have some beautiful captures! I've done the same thing, except I'm much lazier. I create different setups on my back deck and then shoot through the window. What little degradation I get shooting through the glass can easily be cleaned up in Lightroom. When it's snowing and cold, it's so much easier than trekking around in the outdoors. LOL I learned about the setup ideas from Alan Murphy, one of the best bird/wildlife photographers I've ever seen. He has written several eBooks and DVDs on exactly how to attract birds, create natural setups, etc. Unfortunately, my results don't even come close to his.
Beautiful capture! Wow, the eyes are perfectly focused!
I actually like the light area on top, showing the sunlight. I think I'd rather just bring up the shadows on the breast/belly area a bit to bring out the detail. Nice shot!
So beautiful! It looks like a painting.
colo43 wrote:
Thank you Jean, i am sure we are not the first nor will we be the last to have this happen to. its just disheartening to find people are so dishonest and i think that is the worst part of the whole thing.
I thank you for your honest input on the matter - wishing there were more i could do for you, but as you can see - we both are victims of the same sham.
:)
Yes, disappointing, to be sure. Well, such is life...
Marilyn, I know how frustrating this can be! I have also been the victim of stolen images, and no matter how many times I have tried to get them taken down, it feels like I am swimming upstream.
I had entered a contest on Worth1000.com several years ago, to create a "hybrid fruit". I submitted my "Put de Lime in de Coconut" Photoshop creation:
http://all.worth1000.com/entries/197293/put-de-lime-in-de-coconut
I checked many, many times over the years on Google image search, and keep finding that it has been stolen hundreds of times and used for advertising various products. I wouldn't mind so much the copies where people just thought it was cute and shared it, but they are making money off of my work.
Fortunately, Worth1000 contacts the people and tells them to remove the image, but it is no sooner done than it comes up on different sites. Right now a Google search gives me over 600 pages with my image. Ironically, I found it one one person's website, with a note that said it was "stolen". Then I checked, and the person it was supposedly stolen from was somebody who stole it from me! Sheesh!
I wish I had known how popular it was going to be, because maybe I could have sold it for ad purposes somehow.
Anyway, as many have said, "live and learn." Anything that goes on the Internet is free game, whether it is legal or not, apparently.
I am definitely a "fair-weather photographer" (in other words, I'm a total wimp LOL. If it's too hot or too cold, I stay indoors. Fortunately, I also am a watercolor painter, so I use some of my photos as references, and can paint indoors, nice and warm (or cool, as the case may be.)
Sometimes I resort to set-ups. I'll find some interesting branches, and set them up on my back deck near the feeders, and then shoot from inside. I have managed to get some nice bird shots that way.
That explains the extra arm between the two of you! LOL Nice shot for memory's sake, anyway!
I can't see it well enough to tell, but could it be a fisher cat?
Oh, yes! I would have happily spent hours in that light, too! Gorgeous!
Absolutely beautiful! Every one is a winner.
It's really infuriating that Microsoft is so insistent on telling us what we want. I just read this article on Windows 10 being forced down our throats, but the good news is that as long as you do not have your updates set to automatic, you can refuse the update. I don't know for how long, though.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/10/30/windows-10-upgrades-now-automatic/