White-tailed Eagle - caught in the evening light!

[Gerald Kelberg]

Another image from last summer's trip to Norway with the amazing Ole-Martin Dahle. There was something of a wild scramble when this beauty swooped in and snatched the bait very quickly, close to the boat. Massively clipped wing on the upstroke coincided with the off-angle light catching the bird's head as he looked towards the boat.

Canon EOS 1DMkIV, EF 200-400 @ 381mm
1/1600 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1250
Adjusted and converted in DPP4, Levels and Curves adjustments in PS5, NR on background with Dfine

I get a smile from this as it reminds me of those amazing days on the fjords. I hope it gives you a smile too.

Your comments and suggestions are much appreciated.

Gerald

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent action shot as is. You might want to use linear burn on the beak and other brighter areas.

[Shawn Zierman]

Light quality is superb. Action was well captured and sharp. Appears to be quite a few bloody parts flying around....must not have been frozen bait :) Which I'm sure the eagle appreciated :) The clipped composition does not feel quite right to my visual eye, but it's an image that would have made my keeper files in a heart beat.

[William Dickson]

Great image Gerald. I like the details on the eagle, but I am with Shawn, the comp dont feel right with me aswell. I would rather have seen more of the eagle and less of the fish. Fantastic action shot. The image has me thinking of the Isle of Mull where I am going in May and to hopefully get some images of these beautiful birds

Thanks for sharing

Will

[Gerald Kelberg]

Thanks for your comments, guys!
Karl - I'm pretty happy with the beak, but maybe could knock the hot spots back on the fish.
Shawn - well spotted that it was a fresh one and not the usual frozen fare! Getting the comp to my liking has been tricky. The top of the image is pretty much the top of the frame, there is nothing more. But on the other hand - it is completely different to almost any of the other many Eagle shots I got while there, so I'm still pretty pleased.
Will - Thanks for your thoughts. Interesting what you say about the balance between the fish and the eagle - I suppose in many ways this story is about the interaction between the two, not simply about the eagle. Hope you have some good shooting on the Isle of Mull.

Thanks again, Gerald