Bald Eagle

[David Hemmings]

Hello BPN, It has been a while since I have been posting here. Hope all of you are well.

I went to Homer for the first time in my life and I was not dissapointed. A wonderful place. Some of my best images were made at other locations other than the feeding station. This one was shot from a boat several miles acroos the bay from Homer. Sardines were thrown as bait. My goal was to capture the flight dynamics of a Bald Eagle pulling a G turn while cruising for food. They make the decision to turn quickly and the poses they end up in are amazing to me. So fast for such a large bird of prey.

Canon 1D Mk 111 / Canon 100-400 @ 150mm / 1/1000th @ f8 ISO 400



http://avianart.smugmug.com/photos/529023651_kHLao-O.jpg

[Juan Aragonés]

Hi David and glad to see you posting again. I understand the reasons why you are so happy with thi simage. Fantastic light, angle, sharpness are great but, man, the action is out of this world. I LOVE it. Keep them coming ;-)

[Doug Brown]

Oh to photograph Bald Eagles at 150mm! Incredible pose David! Exposure and sharpness are perfect. Is Homer still going to be good for eagles in winters to come?

[David Hemmings]

Oh to photograph Bald Eagles at 150mm! Incredible pose David! Exposure and sharpness are perfect. Is Homer still going to be good for eagles in winters to come?

Hi Doug, From my understanding the feeding station will not be functioning anymore after this past winter. I am not sure who has the final say, Jean Keene's son or the government. It has been a huge attraction for many years and no doubt brings in good funds for the Homer tourism industry in the otherwise quiet winter months.
There are places other than Jean's yard in Homer to get good BE images, so I would say that it will still be a good destination, better if the feeding station continues to operate.

Dave

[Kim Rollins]

I am not sure of the location of the feeding station you speak of but it seems that the City of Homer has now passed and ordinance in regards to withing the city limits.

http://clerk.ci.homer.ak.us/ordinance/ord0601.htm

[Gary Dumer]

What a Awesome Pose You captured, With Crisp Detail and Eye Contact!!! Fantastic!

[Mark Fuge]

Awesome... Agree with Doug on the use of 150mm! I've tried shooting them along the Wisconsin River with a 300mm and it is very hard to get that close and have anything worthy.

Won't comment on composition as the inverted image is still great! :D :D :D ;)

[Charles Wesley]

Extremely well executed photograph. I like the shadows and oh what a sky. Love my EF 100- 400 mm f/ 4.5-5.6 L. Never would have guess you would be zooming to the short end.

Thanks for sharing...
_____________________
Charlie Wesley
St. Augustine Beach, FL

[Fabs Forns]

Incredible pose, and I can see you had good light by the techs.
That's one place I always wanted to visit and never made it :(

Good to see you here!!

[Art Kornienko]

Love the comp, sky and lighting, about as good as it gets. Seems to be a dust bunny though, between right claw and right wing slightly right of middle and up just a touch. Looks like you resolved your problems with the MKIII to your satisfaction.

[Stu Bowie]

Very well timed to capture this amazing posture David. Exposure, sharpness, all there. Congrats.

[Dave Barnes]

Superb image quality and very interesting pose. I like a lot.

[Desmond Chan]

Wow, 150mm !! On another thread it is suggested that a 300mm is not even good enough for a flight shot :) Guess it depends ;)

Very good pose and details !!

Congrats !

[Tony House]

It's all been said......

Superb work.
Tony

[Mark Dumbleton]

That pose is incredible! Superbly captured.

[Mark Fuge]

Wow, 150mm !! On another thread it is suggested that a 300mm is not even good enough for a flight shot :) Guess it depends ;)
Very good pose and details !!
Congrats !

Yes, it does depend on how close you can get to the bird, or it to you. Normally, however, it is not possible to get in this close and get this type of image. Congradulations are justified for not only the image, but the technique of finding it with a short lens. It can be done, but bigger in nature photography is normally better. Of course, in this case a 300mm would have given you a tip of the wing! :D

However he deserves a good tip of the hat for this image. ;)

[Malcolm Benn]

Outstanding image David .. love the intensity of the look.