Eagles in the Mist

Gallery: AvianPosted February 6, 2013356 views14 comments

Eagles in the Mist

Just scrolled through several pages of images in this gallery and noticed very few "birdscapes" so don't know how this one will go over. Maybe it will be considered a cute novelty??

I encountered this scene while photographing grizzlies in an inlet in the Great Bear Rainforest in BC. Because I had a female grizzly with cub just to the left of me (and a river bank to the right) I couldn't move around. That long log posed a compositional challenge and even through the viewfinder I was less than pleased that the narrow channel of water in the background bisected the adult eagle. But...when I kneeled down (to move the eagle up in the frame) the channel disappeared and what I considered an important visual cue adding depth to the frame disappeared along with it. So the channel stayed. Anyway...despite that long log, for some reason this is a shot that always draws me back. But perhaps it's photographer bias and it won't stand up to scrutiny on its own merits. Will be interesting to see...

Subject: Adult and immature Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) posing in estuary in Great Bear Rainforest
Location: Central BC coast, Canada
Camera: Nikon D4
Lens: Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VRII @ 150mm - hand held. VR on and in normal mode.
Exposure: 1/160s @ f4; ISO 720 -0.33 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.
Crop: Very minor - full frame horizontally with slight crop from the top

As always, way more info about this image (including more image capture and post processing details) is available for this image on my website, in this case right here:

http://www.naturalart.ca/galleries/birds/birdsofprey/detail_8.html.

Because 'scapes are dependent upon rich detail (which is hard to convey in a 1200 pixel image like this), I have posted a link to a larger (2400 pix) on my website. Just follow the link above and then click on the "In the Field" tab below the image to find the link...

Comments and critiques would be greatly appreciated - probably best to view the larger version prior to doing so!

Cheers...

Brad

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on February 6, 2013 at 1:17 PM

The larger version of this image is powerful in my opinion Brad. I love the feel of the area, mist over the hills, water, grasses and of course the eagles. At first glance I thought that long log the eagle is perched on to be an eye grabbing distraction, but the more I take in the whole scene I think my eyes accept it as another unexpected feature, one would realistically expect in this rugged terrain. Congrats on this I think properly blown up, matted and framed many would proudly display it over a mantle.

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on February 6, 2013 at 1:29 PM

I like it, Brad. There's an excellent sense of place conveyed here and the eagles add a nice focal point to the image.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Reed on February 6, 2013 at 2:03 PM

Nice shot brad I like it as well. Too bad the eagle on the log hadn't moved up to the left 4 feet...

Registered on September 19, 2009, 198 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on February 6, 2013 at 2:45 PM

I love birdscapes and animalscapes. They give me a feeling of what it must be like to actually be there and I enjoy seeing the habitat. This image is beautiful! The long log doesn't bother me. Without the eagle it might be a distraction, but in this image it works because it's a nice perch for the eagle.

Registered on January 14, 2009, 316 Posts, 2724 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on February 6, 2013 at 4:28 PM

No not a cute novelty. And not a distraction in the image IMO. This is a bird scape, I guess, but to me more an environment, one I'd love to get damp and chilled just watching for a few hours. I clicked this thinking it a derelict, beached sail boat and that long log a mast. So glad I did, this made my day as a wonderful, different nature view.

Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on February 6, 2013 at 4:37 PM

Vey nice as posted. Not a novelty in any way.

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on February 6, 2013 at 8:04 PM

Wonderful 'birdscape' scene Brad, one to be proud of IMHO.
A pleasure to view!!

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on February 6, 2013 at 9:08 PM

Lovely natural setting! It reminds me of the headwaters of Valdez inlet, at the site of Old Valdez, destroyed in the Good Friday quake in 64. I could sit and watch this for hours as the fog slowly burned off. Thanks for posting this; it brings back precious memories.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on February 6, 2013 at 10:53 PM

cool shot, Brad. there's a lot of room for the eye to wander here (in a good way) and a lot too look at. I love the comp, and I like the decision to keep the channel of water behind the adult--I really like the depth of this image. I really like how the wisp of fog above the immature bird mirrors the hilltop above it. we don't see many birdscapes here, but I'd certainly welcome more.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on February 7, 2013 at 9:58 AM

Nice eagle scape! IMHO gives a good look at the environment these eagles were found in. Kind of reminds me of Batemans work. Thanks for sharing.

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

Comment posted by Edward Scott on February 7, 2013 at 12:20 PM

Definitely a wall hanger for me!

Registered on February 8, 2012, 22 Posts, 70 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on February 7, 2013 at 4:06 PM

I like "birdscapes", so this doesn't have to go through hoops to please me. What it does is allow me to see and feel an area where eagles hang out and logs jam up and fog rolls mystically through the mountains.