Eagle on Fence Post

[Alison McCoy]

I took this photo at the Klamath Basin Wildlife Refuge last weekend.
Canon 7D
ISO 100 450mm f/10 1/250

This is my first attempt at using some of the techniques in Artie's Digital Basics to process. If it looks bad it is my fault .

[John Chardine]

It doesn't look bad Alison, but it could look better!

First, for impact I would post an image to the full size allowed by BPN- 1024 wide and 800 high. In this case the image would be 946 x 800.

I like that you have given space for the eagle to look into. The image looks sharp but that can be better evaluated with a larger image.

Notice how the left side of the bird is lit and the right is in shadow. If you have a situation like this then as least you got the light on the main side of the head- the one showing the eye well. For a more evenly-lit subject it would have been better if the sun were more behind you here. To compensate you could lighten up the shadow areas and try to bring out detail. There's a variety of ways to do this and IMO the best is during RAW development using the Highlights/Whites and Shadows/Blacks sliders or the Adjustment Brush with adjustments to these sliders and maybe Exposure. In post processing there are other ways like simple dodging and burning, Shadows and Highlights etc.

As for the crop, the bird is a bit too tight down below (notice the tail-tip). Also the bird seems washed out so I would up the saturation some.

[Alison McCoy]

Thank John! Back to the drawing board then. I will attempt to work with your suggestions and post a larger image. I am shooting and processing RAW images so should not be a problem. Thanks again.

[Sandy Witvoet]

I love "over the shoulder" looks... great job..... Sharpness looks great.... agree a bit of space on the bottom will help the comp. Head/beak/eye need a bit of tweaking. Could be a bit dif to do while trying to bring up the dark shoulder. As John mentioned... a bit more saturation may help. Overall... GREAT CAPTURE!

[Diane Miller]

I'd love to be this close to one of these magnificent birds! You can also bring down the Highlights slider and get more detail in the brightest areas. And then tweak the Exposure as needed.

[Marina Scarr]

Good job on the composition of this one. The whites are looking a little hot on the left side of the head. Would love to see a larger version.

[Loi Nguyen]

Love the eye stare and the sharpness of the dark feathers. The white feathers are a little bit hot like Marina said. I wonder if a vertical crop would enhance the image? I think the space on the right is a bit empty. So more of the bottom and a little less on the right may be.

[Alison McCoy]

Larger image I hope. Thanks Sandy, Diane, Marina and Loi. Reprocessed this with suggestions from John. Tried to lighten the darker areas and added some to the bottom. I am kind of new to Photoshop so I learned a lot like how to add canvas. It was an intersting exersise. Not sure if I ended up with anything worth keeping but doing and redoing was great practice.

[Diane Miller]

Absolutely worth keeping! The added canvas is excellent -- I wouldn't know you had done it.

Color temp is a little cool, but maybe that is your intention.

[David N Smith]

Great capture Alison. The colors do look a little cool but nothing I couldn't live with. Would love to have a shot like that.

David

[Faraaz Abdool]

What a shot, Alison! I wish it were mine! The sharpness looks good, I'm enjoying the over-the-shoulder glance you got from the eagle - and I would've never known you added canvas! Great job!

[kim wormald]

A magnificent shot of a magnificent bird Alison. Its sharp eye and pose are captivating and I like that its feet and talons are so clear, they add to menace/power of the eagle. Your addition of canvas has improved the composition, I'd like to learn how to do that, something else to add to a very long list!