Tawny eagle (Aquila rapax)

[Jonathan Ashton]

I captured this image in Keoladeo Park India in early morning light

Olympus : E-M1X
Lens focal length : 420 mm
Focal Length (35 mm conversion) : 841.0mm
Metering mode : Pattern
Exposure mode : Manual exposure
ISO Sensitivity : 800
Exposure compensation : +2.0 EV
Shutter speed : 1/400 sec
Aperture : F8
Flash : OFF

ACR & PSCC

[Bill Dix]

Great bird, great pose. I like the background. Not so crazy about the perch - you can see it is a favorite of his - but it is what it is. I'm wondering if a touch of Tonal Contrast on the bird would give him a little pop?

[Brian Sump]

Dang Jonathan, I won't comment on the technicals but I love Eagles and I love the soft, hazy feel of this shot.

PS - did you travel there specifically to shoot wildlife?

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Jon, I think you might want to just check the balance of the file based on the tree & underwing cast. Looks a bit under exposed?

Steve

[Bretoteanu Dan]

You caught a very nice wing position and posture. The color of the background brings the subject nicely out. Was he/she preparing to take off?

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks for the feedback.
Bill, I was a little conservative about the tones as I was keen not to suffer too much from noise (image was a large crop).
Brian, yes I went to India for wildlife photography initially tigers and then The Chambal River for gharial crocs birds and river dolphins.
Steve, the colour balance would be different everytime I processed it! The light in the morning was strange due to mist and some pollution - you see it looks kinda hazy. I set the white balance somewhere between as shot and Auto hoping that would be about right. The image was exposed very far to the right, (the black slider was over to the right of centre!) the direction of the light meant the underwings were very dark. This was as good as I could manage , I had processed it on previous occasions but wasn't very happy, this one I am moderately pleased with.

[John Mack]

Cool looking eagle. I don't mind the perch. The framing looks alright to me.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks again everyone, here's a repost perhaps slightly truer colours.
Dan sorry I didn't answer your question, no the bird was a bit irritated by a marsh harrier that was previously perched on the branch, the harrier came by a few times before the eagle found a different perch.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi John

Was this from a lookout point on the track, as you are almost at eye level with the subject? Appears to be a favourite spot judging by the white markings, don't think it would be advisable to clean the perch prior. :w3 Like the landing aspect.

I think the RP is better, but I'm now back on the laptop so... however about this: add a Curves adjustment to to get a bet of tonal depth, then add some minus exp, clarity/dehaze and some saturation on the trees to the RHS. Just think it adds that layering so the FG is richer and the backdrop lighter with the pollution, I told you it was bad, well Delhi is ridiculous.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Jon ... very nice to see a different raptor , another species than the very often posted American relatives :w3.
I do like the setting and the opened wings . Glad you could separate the eagle from the BG .

I know how tricky the Indian light is ... to make the scene look good or reflective of what you light have in your mind .
The OP does look " wrong " in terms of color and / or color balance ..... but your call .

Do not understand why you trust the WB presets and why all images look different when you process them ???
Easy task ... find a " grey" point and neutralize the image ...than bring the color / WB to your desired liking , very easy IMHO !!!

Just my take , Jon .

TFS Andreas

[Jonathan Ashton]

Hi Jon ... very nice to see a different raptor , another species than the very often posted American relatives :w3.
I do like the setting and the opened wings . Glad you could separate the eagle from the BG .

I know how tricky the Indian light is ... to make the scene look good or reflective of what you light have in your mind .
The OP does look " wrong " in terms of color and / or color balance ..... but your call .

Do not understand why you trust the WB presets and why all images look different when you process them ???
Easy task ... find a " grey" point and neutralize the image ...than bring the color / WB to your desired liking , very easy IMHO !!!

Just my take , Jon .

TFS Andreas

Andreas grey point - yes dead easy deciding on color/WB , I often see so many colours and shades that look acceptable, can I honestly remember how it was ??? who knows, I am to a certain extent on presets because I use them as a guide so I can choose where I think the correct setting may lie.

[Steve Kaluski]

I am to a certain extent on presets because I use them as a guide so I can choose where I think the correct setting may lie.

Hi Jon, I guess it just depends on how far you take PP and feel comfortable in processing images, I guess I started with the Ark as you often remind me :bg3: Personally Pre-sets can get some folk into some hot water, the key thing is to know what the pre-set is doing to the image and the ramifications, as all actions have a consequence. If you give 12 folk the same image, same monitors and the same working environments you would still have 12 different results, as we all see things differently. Some 'auto' are 'Bear traps' and can lead folk down a route that is far away for the capture, it's then harder to get back unless you revert to as shot. Certainly LR a while back with it's filters tried to offer an easier/quicker way to process, but basically, it's just pants and I use LR. I think you are better off not using presets Jon and at times your images have been better, but fully understand your thoughts and if it works for you who am I to suggest otherwise? :w3 Catch up later, hope you are enjoying the good weather.