Perfect perch

[Vincent Grafhorst]

An African Hawk-Eagle in nice evening light on a beautifully shaped dead tree.

Khama Rhino Sanctuary, Botswana

Canon 40D, EF500/4 + 1.4xTC
1/320sec @ f/8 EV+0.67, iso 400, full frame, HH

[Juan Aragonés]

Nice to see you here Vincent. This guys looks like an Hieraaetus species (isn´t it?) The perch is terrific and I really like the strong contrast of the light coming from the low position of the sun. The pose of the bird and those incredible eyes facing the sun are the ice on the cake. Well done

[Chris van Rooyen]

Lovely composition, the shape of the dead tree is really amazing! I love side-lighting on dramatic subjects like raptors, it really accentuates their sleek lines

[Vincent Grafhorst]

Hi Juan, yes this is a hieraaetus spilogaster, aka aquila spilogaster.

[D. Robert Franz]

What a great tree... You had some nice low angle light here which saved you with the strong sidelight. Probably wouldn't have worked with the sun higher iin the sky. Well done...

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great pose, perch and light. I would apply some S/H to get more details in the shadows. Maybe something like this:

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

I prefer the second post,nice shot!!!
I really like the light and composition!

[Kaushik Balakumar]

the original post works best for me. i liked the warm side lighting. infact that's what makes the image special.

rgds,
Kaushik

[Vincent Grafhorst]

Hi Axel,
Thanks for taking the time to work a bit on my image and repost it with more details in the shadows. Actually when I processed this image I also did this, but eventually decided to go for the version as I posted. But it is all a matter of personal preference and taste.;)