African Fish Eagle

[Haim Ziv]

Copyright © 2010 Haim Ziv

Nikon D2x 500 mm f4 1/1600 ISO100 HH.
This is FF shoot. Sorry for cutting the wing, and I know I have too much room on the right side and the outcome is a very bad comp.
But even so, I hope it's fine image.

Thank you for looking.
Appreciate all C and C.

[Danny J Brown]

Hi Haim,

These birds are over the top gorgeous and man, have you captured the feather and scale details on this one. The rich, red and chocolate colors are every other bird's envy. And what about those huge talons? This bird has "cankles" which are not good on a human but pretty cool on a bird. Now.....about the composition. As far as I'm concerned, it is what it is because I don't add stuff, including canvas, to my images. Maybe you can think of it as flying so fast that it is headed right on out of the frame. There was a controversial fox photo posted on BPN a while back on this topic, including a poll on whether it was good or bad. Regarding the wing.....tough break my friend but I'm sure glad you shared this image of a fierce-looking raptor.

DB

P.S. Some might feel the eye could be a bit sharper but it looks fine to me.

[Doug Brown]

A lot to like here Haim; great sharpness and excellent exposure. Since the wing is clipped and the composition is unbalanced, why not go for a deliberately tight crop. Something like this:

[Haim Ziv]

Hi Haim,

These birds are over the top gorgeous and man, have you captured the feather and scale details on this one. The rich, red and chocolate colors are every other bird's envy. And what about those huge talons? This bird has "cankles" which are not good on a human but pretty cool on a bird. Now.....about the composition. As far as I'm concerned, it is what it is because I don't add stuff, including canvas, to my images. Maybe you can think of it as flying so fast that it is headed right on out of the frame. There was a controversial fox photo posted on BPN a while back on this topic, including a poll on whether it was good or bad. Regarding the wing.....tough break my friend but I'm sure glad you shared this image of a fierce-looking raptor.

DB

P.S. Some might feel the eye could be a bit sharper but it looks fine to me.

Thank you very much Danny. I also do not like to add canvas.

[Haim Ziv]

A lot to like here Haim; great sharpness and excellent exposure. Since the wing is clipped and the composition is unbalanced, why not go for a deliberately tight crop. Something like this:

Hi Doug.
Thank you very much. It's look very nice ! I really didn't thought to make it like that.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Yep, when that happens a deliberate tighter crop is often a good compromise! I think even keeping the full wing below might work.

Fierce look on this guy, and those talons!! Although the eye is sharp I think it is the faint pale marking in the pupil below the main catchlight that plays mind tricks...you should make that black. Subtle, yes, but very important IMO as the eye is where most instinctively go at first when viewing an image and anything to help it look better is a good thing in my books.:cool:

[Alan Murphy]

The bird looks fantastic. I like Doug's crop but would also be tempted to add canvas.

[Craig Brelsford]

Your original crop was conveying the power of the bird very nicely but had a flawed or unfinished feel. Doug's deliberately tight crop takes away the unfinished feel without taking away from the power of the eagle. The first crop says, "I didn't quite get the whole bird." Doug's crop says, "I want to show you the power of the eagle's talons, the beauty of its ruffled feathers, the seriousness of its gaze, and to do that I sacrificed the wing tips."