Autumn Eagle

[Bill Jobes]

I saw this young adult eagle along the Susquehanna River in Maryland, as it flew in the distance against a hilly, woodsy background.

The image is a pretty big crop, for comp and effect.

Nikon D4

Nikon 600VR II with 1.7 TC

1/2500, F/6.7, +1.0 exposure comp, ISO 12,800

C&C always welcomed and very much appreciated !


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[Corey Hayes]

Awesome colors, pretty good detail for a crop.

nice work

[Bill Dix]

Sweet shot, Bill. Wonderful banking pose, and great BG.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Bill, good choice of comp for the banking angle, and the IQ has held up fine for the 'large crop' you say it was. Exposure looks good on both the dark plumage and the whites, and of course, your BG is a killer - wonderful colours.

[Hayath Mohammed]

That fiery BG adds so much to the dynamic turn and wingspread!

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

beautiful bg with a nice wing position!!!

[David Salem]

Very nice capture. Everything came together nicely on this one. Well done...

[Bill Jobes]

Thanks all for the very generous reviews !

[Marina Scarr]

Killer flight pose, Bill. I love the BG here as it's so different from what we normally see.

[Alan Murphy]

Beautiful BG and flight pose.

[Karl Egressy]

Love this beautiful background and wing position.

[John Cooper]

A great captuer Bill with a stunning BG. You've controlled the large crop and high ISO in your PP very well.

[Bill Jobes]

Thanks so much Marina, Alan, Karl and John !

I feel very fortunate to have been at the right place, right time. Occasions like this make worthwhile the endless hours we all spend pursuing the joy of nature photography.

[christopher galeski]

Beautiful pose,nice BG,good detail,well done.

[Robert Holguin]

Sweet shot.
Love the background, excellent pose, and great IQ.
Well done.

[Satish Ranadive]

Absolutely superb image.
Love the wonderful banking pose,great wing position,details,beautiful backdrop and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[arash_hazeghi]

very nice love the pose and great IQ for ISO 12K!

[Ivan Ellison]

Great image. love the colours in the BG and the detail/focus is spot on. Can only hope for an image as nice as this.

[Yves Guillot]

Great BG colors and flight pose. good IQ at 12K. congrats! Great timing!

[Bill Jobes]

Thanks people, for the kudos ! I really am humbled by the reaction to the photo.

@ Arash (and others who mentioned the 12,800 ISO) here's how that happened.

As the day's light was fading, I set the D4 to ISO Sensitivity at 12,800 at the high end, as I know it performs with virtually no noise at that setting.

As I was shooting Manual, with a shutter speed varying from 1/2000 to 1/2500, I wanted to be sure that the images were properly exposed.

So the D4 selected 12,800 ISO to deliver the image. I like to call this my 'floating ISO,' because once I set the parameters, I am confident that exposure will be spot on, while I manipulate my Manual settings as conditions change.

@ Yves -- yes, in this case, timing was critical based both on the banking angle of the eagle, and the brief instant the yellow/orange trees were in the BG.

[Doug Brown]

Fantastic frame Bill, made all the more impressive by the great detail and overall lack of noise at ISO 12,800!

[Bill Jobes]

Thanks, Doug ... !