Eagle fight [Archive] - BirdPhotographers.net

gail bisson

03-04-2012, 05:05 PM

Canon 1D Mark IV
F 4.0 500mm and 1.4X
ISO 500
SS 1/1600
F 6.3
Cropped by 52% so the IQ is not up to BPN standards.
PP in LR3 and CS5
Cloudy day. Taken at 3:00PM
I was incredibly lucky to be in the right place at the right time. These two eagles were fighting over food. Over the next 45 seconds a third eagle became involved in the dispute. I got 17 frames of this sequence and will post a 2 or 3 over the next week and will post the entire sequence in the Member's showcase forum in the next week or so.
Comments and critiques always learned from and appreciated with thanks,
Gail

dankearl

03-04-2012, 05:08 PM

Very fortunate encounter, Gail and very good timing.
Pretty cool shot.

Ofer Levy

03-04-2012, 05:29 PM

That is pretty amazing!! What a drama captured very well! Maybe a slightly tighter crop.

Randy Stout

03-04-2012, 05:35 PM

Gail:

This was my favorite of the images I saw! I had never seen an eagle lying on its back like this before.

I could see a version with just a slight lifting of the exposure curve.

I really look forward to the rest of the series.

Cheers'
Randy

allanrube

03-04-2012, 05:39 PM

Like the interaction. I would not say being there at the right time was lucky as you go out a lot. It would only be lucky if you occasionally shot photos.

Marina Scarr

03-04-2012, 05:40 PM

This behavior and capture just blows me away! Agree that it needs a tighter crop to better show case the behavior/action. I would crop from just below the line at the top, a little from the left and some from the right. It almost looks as though the top eagle is going to stomp on the bottom one. Maybe that's in the next frame? I wish this one were mine, Gail.

pat lillich

03-04-2012, 05:52 PM

wow Gail - that must have been incredible to see, and so much fun to shoot! Can't wait to see more of your shots from this, 17 frames? wow! Would like to see a little tighter crop, just want the birds to make even more of an impact than they do now... congratulations!

Randy Stout

03-04-2012, 06:43 PM

I think Gail cropped as shown because she was worried about IQ loss, since it is already a pretty big crop.

Cheers

Randy

arash_hazeghi

03-04-2012, 07:19 PM

Excellent action it's a wicked pose but the crop is too loose, a 50% crop is nothing for the 1D4 you should be able to crop WAY more than that for online presentation if the RAW is sharp.

Dan Busby

03-04-2012, 07:29 PM

Beautiful capture Gail. "Being there" has helped you to get lucky and is a big part of making great shots. Because the image is entirely the birds and their behaviour, I would crop tighter too (as long as you have the IQ to do so).

gail bisson

03-04-2012, 07:44 PM

Randy is right. I am worried about IQ, but here is a repost and I think the image is still holding up! This is now a 60%:Whoa!: crop!
Gail

Grace Scalzo

03-04-2012, 07:46 PM

Now you're talking with the crop....superb action, Gail. Looking forward to the series.

arash_hazeghi

03-04-2012, 07:53 PM

Randy is right. I am worried about IQ, but here is a repost and I think the image is still holding up! This is now a 60%:Whoa!: crop!
Gail

Even if you throw 60% image away you still have 6.4M pixels, the posting size on BPN in 1024X768 or 780 Kpixels your file is still 8 times larger! It is best not to crop too much if possible, but for a life shot like this you can crop a lot if the original is sharp.

the repost is big improvement!

Marina Scarr

03-04-2012, 07:53 PM

Funny, when I saw Gail's crop I was ready to write, "Now you're talking..." and there was Grace's response. I would consider cropping a tad more from the left and a little less from the top b/c for me it's just a tad too centered. I await the next frame with great anticipation.

Tom Rambaut

03-05-2012, 02:56 AM

Supershot!! I love the action and in particular the position / pose of the bird on the ground. The head position on the lower bird is perfect - very well done Gail I would have this in my top ten if it was mine

Jonathan Ashton

03-05-2012, 04:00 AM

Excellent image and I too think the recrop holds up well.

Holger Leyrer

03-05-2012, 06:58 AM

Super action photo. Can you show more images?

Richard Unsworth

03-05-2012, 07:34 AM

Tremendous action captured very well indeed. Like the crop

Sidharth Kodikal

03-05-2012, 09:56 AM

Fantastic action captured, Gail and I love the repost.
Must be a thrill to witness. Do these fights get fatal? Is there a dearth of food or do they just like to dominate each other?

gail bisson

03-05-2012, 10:15 AM

Hi Sid,
There is no death or anything like blood! This is all show and no one gets hurt, thankfully!Thet are fighting over a scrap of food but there is no shortage of food that I am aware of! The whole fight only lasts a few seconds although this battle lasted a bit longer because a third eagle got involved and I will post that image tonight,
Gail

Stu Bowie

03-05-2012, 11:34 AM

Hi Gail, Im going to tell you again :w3 - what an incredible sighting. I really like the interaction between the two, especially with the eagle lying on his back. You are fortunate to have ice/snow as a BG, it makes the eagles pop even more with their brown plumage. Very well timed, and your repost has held up well. Congrats again.

Karl Egressy

03-05-2012, 05:36 PM

Great opportunity Gail a d great picture to boot. The tighter cut is better.

Frank Schauf

03-07-2012, 03:02 AM

A great dynamic situation, congratulations.