Golden Eagle calling through the snow

[Gerald Kelberg]

From a recent trip to Norway, this Golden Eagle perched and posed briefly after feeding on a Roe deer carcass left as bait and I caught this image as she was calling out to her mate.

The falling snow was making it difficult to get a clear view of her, but I like the white flecks as they emphasise the story. I'd be interested to hear what others think about this. I have other "clean" images showing the feathers, but this is a bit more especial, I think.

I looked at cropping to exclude the trees on the left, but felt they added atmosphere. What do you think?

This was shot at ISO 3200, but here I am posting it with only the NR applied in DPP 4 conversion. I find that is pretty remarkable!

Canon EOS 1DX, EF 200-400 at 440 mm (with extender)
1/1600 sec @ f/6.3, ISO 3200
Converted in DPP, Levels and curves adjustments in PS5
Cropped & sharpened for presentation.

Thanks for looking! Gerald

[Ivan Sjögren]

Wonderful shot Gerald! The pose is great and it shows the character in these birds. The falling snow is also a nice addition. Great perch and bg. I think the trees add a lot to this photo and I would definately not remove theme, almost which there were more trees to frame the bird and the make for a more interesting BG.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Beautiful shot as presented, I did wonder about brightening the eye a little but I think it is fine as it is. Excellent colours in the eagle, I would leave the trees there.

[Ed Kelly]

Agree with all comments, but it might be more powerful if you brought the Eagle closer towards the tree and re-cropped. Just a thought. Well done.

Ed

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Gerald,

Agree with the comments about leaving the tree - helps to see all the snow falling. I like the perch too and the bird calling is a big plus. Well done.

Allen

[gail bisson]

This is a terrific shot. Love the snow and the calling pose
If you have the PP skills I would "move" the eagle closer to the trees.
It would really elevate this image to another level.
I hope you do not mind but I have done a repost showing the eagle moved towards the trees.I didn't blend the seam very well as I am just trying to show you what I mean. Hopefully you have more canvas on the left to include even more trees on the LHS

[Karl Egressy]

Great image as shot,. Love the calling pose and the snow covered perch.
Gail's version is great, nice improvement to the original composition.