Where Eagles Dare

[Jeff Waugh]

Canon 1D Mk IV, 500f/4 - ISO 400, f/8, 1/400sec.
Natures Wild Photography
www.jeffwaugh.com

[Loi Nguyen]

Very nice and sharp, good details and good light. Wing position is not ideal, but overall a very nice image.

[Jeff Waugh]

Thanks. In your opinion, how could the wing position be more ideal than it is currently?

[Loi Nguyen]

Thanks. In your opinion, how could the wing position be more ideal than it is currently?

Hi Jeff, The near wing is almost horizontal and creates a shadow. IMO wings that are up or down would show best. Loi

[Jeff Waugh]

Ok, well....to each his own. I appreciate the reply. In my opinion, for an eye level shot like this, the slight bank toward the camera is perfectly ideal showing the whole top of the wind detail. If the wings were up, you would not see all of the tops, thus less impact in my opinion. Shadow under the wing is unavoidable in this shot, as the bird is evenly lit everywhere else, just (naturally) not under the wing. You can't have light on the top and bottom....

[dankearl]

Jeff,
Nice to see you posting here.
Keep them coming.
Loi's criticism was valid (this is a criticism site).
THe wing position is not great, Loi is right.

The Eagle is sharp and the BG is nice.

[David Salem]

Hi Jeff, try not to take it personal when you are critiqued. I know its hard not to and I know you are attached to your shots, but once you get thru that part, you will learn allot here. It took me a few weeks to get over it. Its important to see how others see your shots more than you do. Thats how you will learn. Not to say that you dont know what your doing.
The wing position on this shot is not bad, just not optimum. Normally in a BIF shot you are hoping to get a shot of either wings up, wings down or a nice broad side banking shot. These positions usually make for minimal shadows cast on the body and show the feather detail in the wings best.. Otherwise the shot is very nice with good exposure, details and a nice HA. Well done

[John Ippolito]

Agree with the comments above with regard to the wing position. This really is a great site to get honest and helpful critiques. I like the exposure, BG, and the retained details in the head feathers, and body. Nicely captured.

[PhilCook]

So sharp at 1/400sec, well done sir !. I think David has explained well enough. But which ever way the wing position is preferred this is cracker of a shot Jeff, I'd be rapt to get this ....these Eagles over your way are just so darn photogenic

[Mike Tracy]

Nice exposure, sharpness, dof, and background colors are complimentary. I wish he was a little smaller in the frame but I applaud your ability to capture him so close and with this detail. I disagree with the others in this instance regarding wing position. Anyone who has spent any amount of time with eagles know they spend a good amount of time working the thermals and soaring. He is simply a soaring eagle in this image and it depicts their natural behavior.

[arash_hazeghi]

Nice BG and good exposure, I agree the wing position is not ideal especially the near wing. I would sharpen him a bit more. sure eagles are photogenic!

TFS

[Robert Holguin]

Very nice shot.
Exposed very well, very nice details, great background, and great comp.
Well done.

[Karl Egressy]

I like the background and the HA, Jeff.
A lot have been said about the wing position but wasn't really mentioned a few things.
You could have easily gone up with the ISO to 800 (I shoot almost all the time at 800 using the same camera as you do)
and going down with the f stop to 5.6 to gain speed. I was told on this same forum that the minimum shutter speed for BIF is 1/1600
but should aim even shorter. Just some humble advice.

[Jeff Waugh]

Karl, thanks for the comments. If I had gone down to 5.6 for this size of bird, there would not have been enough DOF for wingtip to wingtip sharpness. 1/1600 is very fast. You can clearly see that 1/400 was effective for a gliding Eagle to get a sharp image. I chose ISO 400 for better image quality. If you are trying to freeze action on a fast moving bird, 1/1600 would be appropriate, or of course if you just have that much light to work with.

[vishaljadhav]

Jeff
I like the image, the choice of f8 is what was so mindful in this image to get this big bird fully in focus on the wings
Would put this as a unique image for
the level of the bird to you
HA
full design on the wing being visible
I feel many people would like different things about the image and it helps us understand different aspects which we may miss when we undertook the shot.
I love this one, looking forward to more from you

[Jeff Waugh]

Thank you for the thoughtful comments! Yes, input is always useful. We just need to filter though it all and pull out what works for our individual needs and styles as photographers.

[dankearl]

You were lucky at 1/400, generally that will never work for even gliding birds.
1/1600 is not fast, basically minimal for flight.
ISO 800 with the camera you have is nothing.
The IQ difference would be negligible.
You might want to take advantage of critiques in this forum.

[Jeff Waugh]

Dan, you post almost seems offensive/aggressive in tone. I beg to differ that I was NOT lucky at all. The Eagle was riding a strong head-wind thermal, and was practically standing still. I shoot well below 1/1600 all the time for flight (due to low light) and attain tack sharp images. Definitely more noise at 800 than there is at 400. I also plan for the best possible IQ, and adjust if something isn't working. I do take full advantage of all the experience in these forums...thanks.

[dankearl]

Jeff,
not trying to be offensive at all.
Again, this is a critique forum, at every comment, you were defensive.
Why bother to post?
if you think it is top notch, our opinions don't matter.
1/400 is extremely slow for flight and that is all Karl was pointing out.
Iso 800 is not high these days, Nice IQ is easy at that level.
If you think the photo has nice IQ and comp and wing position, that is fine.