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Winter Golden Eagle
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Winter Golden Eagle

by Marlise Launstein

Gallery: AvianPosted March 21, 2012112 views4 comments
Hi Everyone! I took this picture yesterday during a drive through the foothills in Southern Alberta. We spotted this Golden Eagle on the hillside beside the road and as we approached it lifted off and did a complete circle around our truck before landing back on the hill...this time a little further away of course.

My dad pulled the truck up for a good angle and I got several pictures of him.

It was snowing pretty hard but because he perched against the sky you can't see any of the snowflakes except the ones in front of his body. It would have been cool if there was a darker background so there would be snowflakes all around him!

Also, I forgot to use exposure compensation so my dad had to do some extra work in processing and the extra noise is why we didn't post a larger version.

Thanks for looking!

Nikon D7000
Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4 IF-ED w/ TC-14EII
ISO 640
1/800sec @ f/7.1
handheld from truck window

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on March 21, 2012 at 10:52 PM
Nice job capturing this Golden Eagle, Marlise. Very nice job with the composition. I like the way you have placed the Eagle in the frame.
Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments
Comment posted by Ken Archer on March 22, 2012 at 3:50 AM
Golden Eagles are tough to capture. You did very well here Marlise :cool: I like the habitat in the foreground and the light snow cover is a nice bonus. I am not real thrilled with the white sky though, but there's not much you could have done to avoid it.

Ken Archer
Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments
Comment posted by Roman Kurywczak on March 22, 2012 at 10:15 AM
Hey Marlise,
Very nice comp and the environs add a great deal to the image. I too think if you had the darker BG with snowflakes that would put it over the top......but that is what keeps all of us coming back for more! Nicely done.
Registered on November 20, 2009, 56 Posts, 748 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Hackley on March 23, 2012 at 3:38 PM
A nice shot for such difficult shooting conditions but at least you got to see and photograph one, way to go.
Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments