Beauty

Gallery: AvianPosted November 23, 2009220 views5 comments

Beauty is a 12+ year old female bald eagle that lives at the Miller Park Zoo with a non-flighted male. She cannot fly, and the exhibit is only enclosed on the sides. Three years ago Beauty began laying for the first time, also at the same time a wild male bald eagle took up residence in a tree right on the edge of Beauties exhibit. He remained there for 4 days. None of the eggs were fertile. I was testing my new Sigma 150-500mm lens and found her to be a great test subject.

Canon Rebel XSi,Sigma 150-500mm !/400 @ f7.1. ISO 400. tripod

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on November 23, 2009 at 5:39 PM

Hi John: Looks like a very regal pose. Overall the image is a bit on the dark side. The whites are a bit dark. I would have loved to see more light in the eye. Some selective dodging may bring it out more. Thx for sharing your image.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on November 24, 2009 at 12:15 AM

I like the rim-lighting on the beak and neck John. The dark background works well with the white head.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on November 24, 2009 at 11:11 PM

John

I like the rim lighting and the intense stare of the eagle,

As mentioned the image appears dark, I think you could selectively brighten it some and sharpen it a little bit more for a stronger image.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on November 25, 2009 at 12:08 PM

Now thats a smart looking bird . Love the expression the super sharp beak and intense stare. Would also like to see a bit more light.

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on November 25, 2009 at 4:25 PM

Thanks for all of the comments. I have tried to lighten the image, but I find that as the BG lightens there are more lighter circles from the sun reflecting off of the evergreens behind the eagle. The photo was taken around 10-10:30 in the morning.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments