Bald Eagle Hunting - My First !!!

[c.w. moynihan]

This is my first decent flight shot of an immature taken on Saturday, shooting down into a river gorge post water fall near my home. While not of Homer quality, it is nice to see them again in numbers in relative civilization so to speak. This was high iso as the light was subdued to get a reasonable shutter speed. I do like the swooping pose looking for fish in the river. This opportunity took place only after 6 hrs of standing around in the cold waiting for a moment. They are roosting in an inaccessible area along the river, so you only get few flyby opportunities. Constructive comments and criticism welcomed and appreciated.

40D, 840mm, 1/1600th, f/6.3, iso 800, available light, ~70%

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

[Robert Amoruso]

Given all that you were up against, I think you got a nice looking image here. I like the vantage point and you can clearly see the intensity in the Eagle's eye and that's a nice touch. He is sharp where it needs to be sharp. The contrast of him against the water is good as well.

[Alfred Forns]

Hi CW Would only add that you might try selecting the area and lightening a bit I like the tech info Going to the higher ISO was an excellent trade Congrats !!!

[Linda Robbins]

I like the top view and the young eagle's concentration. Good head angle. You get a gold star for putting in so much effort to get this nice image under those conditions!

___________________

Linda

[Howard Burkert]

Hi CW,I like your image alot and can relate to your wait, however if it was easy everybody would be doing it. As I look at the image my vision comes in from the left.....over the tail and back and then lastly at the eye. At this point a viewer wants a quick way out of your image. If it is in your ethics to do so....in PS go to..image>rotate canvas>flip canvas horizontal. I think you will find your eye will enter form the left to the eye and your viewer will not want to leave your image so quickly.Try it and let me know what you think!!
Howard.

[c.w. moynihan]

Hi CW,I like your image alot and can relate to your wait, however if it was easy everybody would be doing it. As I look at the image my vision comes in from the left.....over the tail and back and then lastly at the eye. At this point a viewer wants a quick way out of your image. If it is in your ethics to do so....in PS go to..image>rotate canvas>flip canvas horizontal. I think you will find your eye will enter form the left to the eye and your viewer will not want to leave your image so quickly.Try it and let me know what you think!!
Howard.

Hey Howard, that's a pretty neat trick I haven't thought about before. Being right eye dominant as most people are, the comp works better as you suggest. I hope this doesn't break the rules showing the result. Thanks again for the suggestion. ;)

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I guess I must be a left-eyed person. I liked the original better. :)

[Jeff Nadler]

Great eagle image. I must say I like the original better myself. The action flows from left to right, which is how my brain must work (at times.)