Posted by Bill Dark on January 13, 2010 at 7:47 PM
Some of you old timers have seen me post an image or two from this neat place before - Beaver Arkansas. During the late 1800's there was a railroad that went through here on its way to Eureka Springs. These trestles and some other remnants near the "new" suspension bridge are all that remain.
This was taken last Sunday when there was some really nice hoar frost that developed overnight and made for some wonderful conditions. The eagle seemed to be cooperative too.
D3x, 80-200mm, f/10, 1/500 sec.
Posted by Tom Kennon on January 13, 2010 at 7:57 PM
Bill, neat shot with a lot going on. The rising fog and frost are special. That eagle is a pretty nice element also!
Posted by Jan Harrison on January 13, 2010 at 8:00 PM
If I was qualified to comment, I would have to say this leaves me speechless. This is one beautiful image.
I am totally speechless as well Bill. I had an intake of breath when I saw this. Simply beautiful. What more can I say.
Posted by Larry Daniel on January 13, 2010 at 8:11 PM
Excellent Bill.
Posted by TIMERNST2 on January 13, 2010 at 8:11 PM
Hey man, you need to upgrade your lenses now to keep up with that sensor!
Posted by Brad Mangas on January 13, 2010 at 8:50 PM
Fantastic Bill, beautiful !
Posted by Mike Hall on January 13, 2010 at 8:58 PM
FANTASTIC Shot! Yes I'm yelling! It didn't leave me speechless. It made me say WOW. A lot to take in on this one. I'm going to stop typing and return to the picture now. Very nice!!
Posted by Rob Graham on January 13, 2010 at 8:58 PM
beautiful, the eagle adds a special touch to the scene
Posted by Tim Buchanan on January 13, 2010 at 9:21 PM
Great shot, Bill! I've been to that area once and if I'd know such a beautiful image was possible I would have been back ever weekend!
Posted by Bill Dark on January 13, 2010 at 9:24 PM
Thanks everyone for the nice comments.
As I was driving over to this place Sunday morning, I passed through quite a bit of fog, and was thinking "crap, I'm not even going to be able to see the trestles...maybe I should go after some hoar frost macro shots." But then I imagined this very scene developing (without the eagle) and kept going. Am I glad I did!
Tim, I've got the wides covered, but maybe you could tell me if a 70-200 VR would be a significant improvement in sharpness over the 80-200. I think the nano coating would help with flare and ghosting, but am not sure I would see any difference in sharpness on a tripod. I suppose the VR would probably be a good feature to have for wildlife work though.
Posted by TIMERNST2 on January 13, 2010 at 9:44 PM
Bill, yes, that is what I was talking about. Your high-res fullframe sensor will run circles around the D2x, but it requires the very best glass in order to take advantage of it. Part of the reason is the fact that a lot of glass is not very good in the corners, but with a crop camera that did not matter since it was all cropped out. The original 70-200 VR probably would not have made much difference to you when stopped down, but the new VR II is quite a bit better and is really made for these high-res sensors - all the way out to the edges. The 14-24, 24-70, and 70-200 VR II make a killer trio with the D3x! Although, really, if you shoot everything at f8 it may not make any difference, but if there are any weaknesses in your lens it will be magnified with the 24mp sensor...
Bill this is spectacular!!! The eagle did cooperate nicely. Congrats on the new camera and what a way to break it in.
Posted by Isaac Szabo on January 13, 2010 at 11:27 PM
Wow, great image Bill! The eagle really tops it off. Congratulations on your new camera!
Posted by Ed Cooley on January 14, 2010 at 12:19 AM
Wonderful scene Bill. Nice to see you shooting with a D3x, I'm anxious to see some prints.
Good luck with the glass upgrades.
Posted by Bryan Simpson on January 14, 2010 at 7:38 AM
Bill, this is stunning! This is one of those "all of the elements coming together at the right time" kind of moments and you have captured it expertly.
Posted by Merle Cook on January 14, 2010 at 8:36 AM
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on January 14, 2010 at 9:21 AM
Darn Bill, all the superlatives are taken .... so I guess all that's left to say is congratulations! This image will be sold many times over and grace private homes & businesses for many years to come.
A magical moment expertly rendered.
Posted by Larry Fischer on January 14, 2010 at 9:30 AM
Apparently the eagle knew this was the place to be also.......just stunning Bill, absolutely gorgeous! Congrats!
Posted by Angela Classen on January 14, 2010 at 10:17 AM
This truly has it all: great light, wonderful comp and so many elements (eagle, trestle, rising fog, sparkling trees, great bluff). What an AWESOME capture. Congrats!
Posted by Aaron Szabo on January 14, 2010 at 10:34 AM
This is a great shot! It's one that you could look at for a while. So I'm thinking big and canvas...
Now that you're shooting with the D3x I can tell you that you that you moved up from and camera that has a lower sensor rating than Nikon's cheapest entry level DSLR (D3000), to the overall best rating of any DLSR to date!
Posted by Randy Wilson on January 14, 2010 at 3:51 PM
Outstanding work!
Posted by Karla Hall on January 14, 2010 at 7:09 PM
Okay...So I am apparently the last one to chime it, but here it goes....You have captured something here that we all dream of...that moment in time that cannot be reduplicated! Excellent, Excellent, beyond perfect! Congrats on the shot and the new camera!
Posted by Darren Huski on January 14, 2010 at 7:57 PM
Freakin awesome!!!!
Posted by Bill Dark on January 14, 2010 at 8:49 PM
Thanks again everyone for your kind thoughts. Aaron, I knew I was a little behind on the technology curve, but not THAT far! I feel like I've been shooting with a pinhole camera now...
Posted by Scott Bean on January 16, 2010 at 8:59 AM
This quite possibly be one the best photos I've seen.
This is amazing, Bill. The light, frost, and the fog are enough to put this over the top but with the eagle this is in the stratosphere. Amazing shot!!
Posted by John Moore on January 18, 2010 at 4:34 PM
Did you Photoshop that eagle in there? LOL! Just kidding. Congratulations on putting yourself there to see and capture that magnificent image.
Discussion
30 repliesThis was taken last Sunday when there was some really nice hoar frost that developed overnight and made for some wonderful conditions. The eagle seemed to be cooperative too.
D3x, 80-200mm, f/10, 1/500 sec.
As I was driving over to this place Sunday morning, I passed through quite a bit of fog, and was thinking "crap, I'm not even going to be able to see the trestles...maybe I should go after some hoar frost macro shots." But then I imagined this very scene developing (without the eagle) and kept going. Am I glad I did!
Tim, I've got the wides covered, but maybe you could tell me if a 70-200 VR would be a significant improvement in sharpness over the 80-200. I think the nano coating would help with flare and ghosting, but am not sure I would see any difference in sharpness on a tripod. I suppose the VR would probably be a good feature to have for wildlife work though.
Good luck with the glass upgrades.
A magical moment expertly rendered.
Nice capture,
the fisch
Now that you're shooting with the D3x I can tell you that you that you moved up from and camera that has a lower sensor rating than Nikon's cheapest entry level DSLR (D3000), to the overall best rating of any DLSR to date!
According to Dxo Mark:
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/eng/Image-Quality-Database/Compare-cameras/(appareil1)/207|0/(appareil2)/287|0/(appareil3)/331|0/(onglet)/0/(brand)/Nikon/(brand2)/Nikon/(brand3)/Nikon