03/10/26

 So today's image is not the best image I have ever taken but I am sharing it to explain why I shoot the way I do.  I shoot my images in what is called a "RAW" format rather than just the typical jpeg.  If I had shot this in jpeg, I never would have gotten anything out of it.  This is a Red Shoulder Hawk that was sitting just outside our back door.  I was in a hurry to get it and the closest camera I had did not have the correct settings and the exposure was WAY too dark, almost black.  Because I shot it in RAW I was able to recover it to this point and have it look fairly OK.  If I had shot in jpeg I would have lost much of the detail and would have ended up with an image that was totally unusable.  I shot this through a screen as well so had that against me too.  😂  JPEGS are easier to share with others but RAW helps ensure you will most likely have something to share, even when you mess it up taking the photo.