Red-tailed Hawk with a Gopher Snake

This is another picture taken in our front yard. I noticed movement while out working in the yard and saw that there was a hawk dancing around something in the yard. It was midday and there were dark shadows and very brightly lit areas. The hawk was alternating between them as he was right on the edge of a shadow. I quietly moved away and got my camera and came back to the area. He was still there but this time he had a snake clenched in his foot. He flew to a mesquite tree and I snapped this picture. The original version was very dark with a very bright background. In order to get a decent picture it required significant a significant manipulation of the “raw” file. I changed the background but the bird and snake are only enhanced to make them more visible and closer to what I actually saw. I often work pictures to make them more like I actually viewed them or to make them represent what I want the visitor to see. I think this is a valid objective of photography as an art rather than simply a second of an event. I will probably move this to the “Miscellaneous” gallery rather than the “Bird” gallery because it is a more “painterly” version of the original photograph.