Bald Eagle

Gallery: AvianPosted April 3, 2011102 views6 comments

This is a shot taken this morning of 1 of a pair of nesting Eagles I have found recently. The nest is about 100yds away, with a deep valley between us, and I am on a ridge looking towards the nest. I have been waiting for one of them to fly my way, and today was my lucky day.
Probably my best BE shot to date. I tried to lighten under the wings but didn't want to go to far with it. Hasn't been very good light lately, but the clouds dispersed enough for me to capture this and a few other shots.

D300 w/sigma 50-500mm @ 500mm
f/8
1.1250
iso 400
80% FF
tripod mounted

As always your comments and critique are always welcomed and appreciated. Hope to get back to commenting more myself.

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on April 3, 2011 at 6:02 PM

A respectable eagle image, especially away from Florida or the NW Pacific coast or Alaska where they are much easier to approach. I think you were wise not to try to lighten the underwings here.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on April 3, 2011 at 8:26 PM

Nice flight pose, and I enjoy the view of the eye, beak and talons.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on April 3, 2011 at 9:06 PM

Nice flight shot, Doug. Although I am wishing for more more detail under the wings, I agree with your choice to leave them as is. It often looks very unnatural to lighten them. I like the way that you have placed the Eagle in the frame. Nice image.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on April 3, 2011 at 9:30 PM

Nice image. There is still plenty of detail in the body and in the legs, so I don't mind the darkness under the wing. Well done and congrats on your patience waiting on them.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on April 5, 2011 at 9:49 AM

Doug, Sharpness looks good and I like the very slight tilt of the head to give better eye contact. I agree that trying to lighten under the wings any more than this would likely be a mistake.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Canning on April 6, 2011 at 7:03 PM

Very nice image Doug, I agree with Matt that you did the wing lightening just right. How do you like the 50-500? I have seen that lens around quite a bit lately, though I have not had the pleasure of trying it out yet.

Registered on February 10, 2004, 88 Posts, 549 Comments