Bald Eagle Dive

[gail bisson]

1Dx 600mmII
ISO 800 f 5.6 @ 1/2000
Baited with salmon heads
Almost FF. Softened a couple of areas in the green BG that had sharp edges.
Comments and critiques always learned from and appreciated with thanks,
Gail

[Mervyn Marsh]

Hey Gail, this is awesome.. can't really fault this one. :)
Cheers,
Merv

[Matthew Briggs]

Great photo of a bald eagle and a lil jealous on my side of how well you've captured this.
Thank you kindly for sharing this with us ^.^

[Greg Oakley]

Awesome capture Gail - superb flight pose. Only nit would be the lighter areas in the BG behind the bird

[Norm Dulak]

This is a terrific action shot, Gail. Exposure, feather detail and sharpness of your subject could not be better. Very impressive!

[Grace Scalzo]

You've really got the exposure on these beauties down pat with excellent detail between the darks and the whites. I love the colors of the background, wouldn't mind seeing a frame sometime with an all green background.

[Steve Kaluski]

Nicely framed Gail, love the pose and goes to show how good the 1DX is at nailing and colour. I get the impression the day was overcast which has helped with the whites and evenness of the light. Not sure if you have slightly blurred the BKG or softened it as the sharpness of the bird to BKG looks a little too clean, if you know what I mean? Just a thought.

TFS
Steve

[Bill Dix]

Wow. Nice job acquiring focus on this fast-moving bird against the trees, and without clipping a wing. Great exposure and detail, action and expression. My only nit is that my eyes tend to be pulled toward the bright parts of the bg.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, exposure on the darks and whites spot on, and you nailed the overall sharpness too. Great diving pose, and the eagle pops nicely from the BG. Well captured.

[gail bisson]

Nicely framed Gail, love the pose and goes to show how good the 1DX is at nailing and colour. I get the impression the day was overcast which has helped with the whites and evenness of the light. Not sure if you have slightly blurred the BKG or softened it as the sharpness of the bird to BKG looks a little too clean, if you know what I mean? Just a thought.

TFS
Steve

Hi Steve,
Thanks for your critique.The day was indeed overcast. I only did noise reduction to the BG. No blurring except for the small area that I mentioned which was just under the wing. It is the exceptional sharpness of this shot that made me like it so much!
The frame just before and after this one have an unsightly bit of telephone pole in the BG. I too would have loved an all green BG,
Gail

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gail, different people do different things in their workflow, so I have to guess in terms of Blurring or NR. At 800 the BKG should be fine without NR, albeit just a fraction, I've been shooting a lot between 1250 -2500 and no NR has been applied, I would try posting without to see/gauge the reaction of folks. It will also help with additional masking and may reduce that very clean edge around the subject, but as I say, just a thought. FWIW 800 is normally my default setting and the body really works so well with all the revised kit that has been coming out.

The frame just before and after this one have an unsightly bit of telephone pole in the BG. I too would have loved an all green BG,

I think this has more 'reality' to the look & feel, all green may look 'artificial', you have to work hard to achieve this or lady luck has to be on your side to get that perfect BKG's, but we can all strive, it's a great bench mark.

[dankearl]

Nice intense look Gail, and I like the color of the BG.

[Jim Crosswell]

Exceptionally sharp indeed! I like the diving position, details, exposure, composition and intense stare. Look forward to seeing more.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Sure an all green BG would have been terrific as those bright spots do pull the eye a tad, but I love the eagle's pose (the far wing especially rocks) and look of concentration.

[christopher galeski]

nice capture Gail,agree on the light bits in the BG pulling the eye,but still a nice image.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Super image Gail, boy I wish we had a few of these eagles on the River Dee!! Love the exposure and colours - spot on.

[David Salem]

Wow, very nice Gail!! The tack sharp eagle really pops off the screen due to the detail in it. Exposure looks perfect and the pose and concentrated stare is very captivating. One of your best eagle shots.. Congrats. P.S. I dont mind the BG at all.

[Shawn Zierman]

Killer image Gail. Love the exposure work, details, flight pose, and background. Can you give any additional info on the baiting? Do you hand toss the fish heads or chuck em with a slingshot? How long does it take to attract the eagle(s), and how many birds do you have to work with? Do you have a partner chucking the fish while you shoot? Are you throwing the fish into water? Any feedback would be appreciated.