Dapped Bald Eagle

This one is for Dave... he introduced us to DAP and since then it has been one of my favorite filter. His technique involved using a bright and heavy brush strokes along with a canvas like texture as overlay. I had taken this at Homer, AK during one of Artie's IPT. The background is a mountain face with trees and fresh snow. It was a dark and busy bg which made it difficult to pick out the dark feathers of the juvenile raptor. For processing, I used a layer of DAP realism template with small brush strokes for a short duration. Added another layer of fract along with few adjustment layers with masks. Painted with different shades of gray to open up parts of the image and sharpened the final version for posting. Hope you like it...

This looks even more majestic when seen in a larger size. I'd add some canvas to the bottom and lighten the background a bit. I love the colors, and the background is exquisite. The strong white diagonal leading to the eagle is very effective. The discontinuous line of snow at the bottom combines with some of the other white lines and curves to very loosely echo the shape of the eagle, and that's almost magical.

I love the way the background is just blurred enough to provide a text for the eagle. It seems to reflect his varied plumage (he is immature). The poet in me likes this, for his life is beginning and is coming together. I also like the strong white diagonal that brings my eye back to the eagle's head and chest over and over. Great shot. Dawn

Love the splayed feather tips and overall position of the eagle, Indranil. Did you use the DAP and Fract just for the BG? In any case it looks great!

Hi Indranil, nice tribute to Dave and a super image. Good job on the capture and I love the muted colors on the underwing areas. Background is very complementary. DAP just keeps getting better and Dave was a master! I hope everyone gets a chance to try it out.

Hello Indranil , I still long to see my first "Non-Captive " Eagle . This is a lovely image .The processing seems to me to be just enough to add to the photo ,and not over done .
..............Now I will have to go look-up ,"DAP" . .................

Majestic wings! Love the feathers at the end. Also, the curled in talons. Perfect angle of the bird and placement against the bg. Wish the bird stood out more from the bg. Excellent composition and capture.

Indranil, a lovely capture and beautiful DAP treatment - Dave would have liked it.:S3: