Her favorite perch

[Duane Noblick]

88694

Canon 7D, Canon 500mm f/4L + Canon 1.4II extender, manual, 1/1600" @ f/6.3, ISO 400

One of the Eagles favorite perches near the nest I've been following since 2008. This is the female after she returned from a food run and she was about to relieve the male incubating the three eggs she laid over a week ago.

I removed some twigs towards the left side of the frame and this is cropped vertical from horizontal. There is a small window to photograph the Eagles on this branch through a bunch of branches and twigs. Once the trees leaf out no shot will be available.

[Robert Amoruso]

Given the tight window you have to get this image you did well. My preference here would be for the eagle to be looking left with a slight head turn towards you.

A head-on looking down view can be very powerful with eagles but I am not too pleased with the shadow this head angle creates.

[Duane Noblick]

Given the tight window you have to get this image you did well. My preference here would be for the eagle to be looking left with a slight head turn towards you.

A head-on looking down view can be very powerful with eagles but I am not too pleased with the shadow this head angle creates.
Thank you Robert. Given the harsh light I couldn't manage any detail in the head feathers with her head turned towards her left (I do have images with her looking that way) so I opted to post this one instead.

http://DuaneNoblick.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v21/p1072567748.jpg

I posted four images of her on this branch on a local forum and this one won out as a fan favorite because she was looking down and it's actually my favorite from the series as well. I listen to all the opinions I get so yours is much appreciated.