Regal Fish Eagle

The king of the African skies, with a hauntingly beautiful call and plumage to match.
On the recent photo safari I led to the Chobe river we were able to pull our specialised photographic boat in close to this female sitting on the edge of the riverbank. This is full frame @ 36 megapixels!
I got verticals as well but really liked how the wind swept up the crest here (no natural crest on them). This eagle is related to the Bald Eagle and the White-tailed Sea Eagle and Stellar's Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus genus).

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f4.0 | 1/1250 SS | ISO-140

WOW!!!! what an image! I love raptors and this one is a beauty!

Amazing photo rich in details, specially on the whites that can be tricky to get sometimes. This is an outstanding portrait shot and there nothing I can say looks wrong. It is SUPERB!

Gorgeous bird and image, incredible amount of detail (the spokes of pigmented material in the eye, for example).

I know there is a general trend to position the main element of a photo far from center, but personally I think cropping a bit from the right side would improve the composition. I'm probably in the minority on this, though.

John

Stunning image Morkel! Awesome detail and cool crest. Well done.

Stunning image with tons of detail, great exposure and very nice composition. I would love to see the full bird with its talons!

This indeed looks like an Haliaeetus!
Love the proud pose, the eye looks like a marble. You must have been very close to come away with a FF of this fantastic bird, good for you amigo!

Beautiful detailed portrait Morkel.
I'm amazed that you could get so close to a wild raptor.

Beautiful subject, beautifully captured! I love the exposure on the whites, the over-the-shoulder head turn, the detail overall (but especially in the eye). I'm a fan of the composition, as well.

Just beautiful - love it the quality is outstanding.

Amazed at the quality of this image.

Keith.

Morkel, stunning portrait of a top avian predator. The details on the white and the dark feathers are impressive, and couple with the BG, you would think this is a studio shot. Loi

Outstanding IQ, great all around portrait shot, Morkel.

excellent image,love theBG,sharpness and detail superb in the bird,and a great pose.well done.

Magnificent portrait of majestic eagle.Wonderful colours and fine details.Excellent IQ.

Regards,
Satish.

Hi Morkel, one lucky fish to get that close to this majestic bird. As far as bird portraits go, I think this is just about as good as it gets. Excellent sharpness and exposure, and the level of fine detail takes this over the top. Well done!

Thinus

What a wonderful, imperious pose from a stunning bird. Details superb, and the background colors are the perfect complement to the bird.

Beautiful bird and exquisite detail. Like the BG too. I could see cropping slightly off the right and maybe pushing your exposure to the right a bit.

hi Morkel.Beautiful portrait.details on the white and the dark feathers are impressive, and couple with the BG.TFS

Regal indeed. Top-notch Morkel!

it's a very handsome eagle and your portrait did justice to him

Thanks for your kind comments, folks...
:5

Great looking portrait of this awesome looking Eagle. Love the detail and exposure on this one. Very nice.