I was photographing a family of river otters at Oxbow Bend in Grand Teton and this Bald Eagle kept making low fly-bys trying to steal pieces of suckers that the otters had been feeding on.
Luckily my settings for the otters worked for the Bald Eagle since it was so bright out - my shutter speed was high enough.
Canon 5D
Canon 500mm f/Fl IS II USM + 1.4x III
Manual Exposure
ISO 250
f/9
1/1250s
700mm
I cropped out 15% and did a USM on the bird only. I was not sure whether to try to clone out the trees or not.
Happy New Year everyone and thank you for the feedback.
Very nice frame! I like the trees, as it gives it more context - definitely leave them in.
You may be able to get a little more detail out of the whites in the head. Just a bit bright, I think. A tough exposure in bright sunlight, but you did well.
Are you shooting with the original Canon 5D or the 5DIII?
Hi Ashley.
You have done well...Agree the head is a bit hot just above the shadow line but the bird is nicely framed and sharp to. I too think the trees should stay, otherwise you end up with boring blue sky and loose the context of the low speed fly by's... I sometimes add a slight gradient to boring blue BG's which can help if your ethics allow such changes..
Nice flying pose, and I like the lightly curled and spread out primaries. Yes to leaving the trees in, and yes to more room for the comp if you have it. You did have enough SS for this image, but I would still bump up the ISO for even more...these cameras can take it with no noise issues until way higher than what you had...and this way if you do get surprised with even faster action you'll be ready for that too.
Bald Eagle (Oxbow Bend, WY)
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