Bateleur Eagle

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Camera	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Exposure	(1/640)
Aperture	f/8.0
Focal Length	700 mm
ISO Speed	250
Exposure Bias	0 EV

[Sandy Witvoet]

Wowsa! Even tho this image might be considered "busy", I LOVE shots that include the environment... this is well done while still maintaining the viewer's focus on the Eagle (well, and his "lunch" too!) A few stray twigs... but to be expected when you capture a unique wildlife image like this (oh... and it's not overly "graphic" either!) I will leave comments on the techs to our other members who are much better than I am! Love the "stare down"!

[edwardselfe]

You did well to retain detail and interest in difficult lighting. It's nice to see a Bateleur in sub-adult plumage. Around age 4 or 5 I would suggest. I would try to smooth the background (perhaps with the negative clarity slider + brush in LR) and you'll have a super image. You could perhaps lighten the eyes a tiny bit and perhaps drop the blacks 1 or 2 points for more contrast, but don't lose any beautiful feather detail.
Ed

[John Chardine]

Hi Sanjeev-What an incredible bird! Backlighting is tough. Maybe bringing up the bird's tone would work. I also like environmental images like this. The real distraction for me is the bright piece of grass coming out of the bird's breast. This could be toned down.