Predators Without Prey

[Bob Pelkey]

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park in Key West, Florida, typically lends itself as a wildlife hotspot a few weeks a year during migration.



It is a habit of mine to miss that opportunity, but always have an enjoyable time there nonetheless. Such was the case this past visit when I observed for the first time in my eight years of wildlife observation a Laughing Gull chasing a Bald Eagle. The gull was relentless allowing me 86 shots of their interaction. This cropped image presented is my favorite of the bunch.

Canon EOS 1D Mark IV ,Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS USM
1/5000s f/4.0 at 600.0mm iso500 hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	23-May-2015 09:29:37
Make	Canon
Model	Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	600 mm
Exposure Time	1/5000 sec
Aperture	f/4
ISO Equivalent	500
Exposure Bias	+1 2/3
White Balance	0
Metering Mode	matrix (5)
JPEG Quality	(7)
Exposure Program	aperture priority (3)
Focus Distance	98.3 m

[Mike Hitchen]

A cool moment, Bob and well captured.

The eagle's underwing looks likeyou have done some major shadow recovery - if so could you dial it back a bit? I think the tones look a tad too 'flat'.

[Bob Pelkey]

The image was lightened slightly.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I am not sure how accurate the distance info is, but it must be a significant crop from that distance and the exposure details indicate a fair bit of underexposure to me.
Still a nice shot of some good action. I do like the way it turned its face for the light.

[Mike Hitchen]

Thanks Bob. I have just read the metadata and see it was taken from 98m so maybe the croping Akos mentioned is the reason for what I saw.
Still a good capture, though.

[Bob Pelkey]

You may have the best judgement of distance of the subjects with the uncropped (also unprocessed) image presented here.



Thank you for your comment, Akos.

I am not sure how accurate the distance info is, but it must be a significant crop from that distance and the exposure details indicate a fair bit of underexposure to me.
Still a nice shot of some good action. I do like the way it turned its face for the light.

[Bob Pelkey]

Some of the light came from the water below. Grateful for that. Thank you for your interest, Mike.

Thanks Bob. I have just read the metadata and see it was taken from 98m so maybe the croping Akos mentioned is the reason for what I saw.
Still a good capture, though.

[Mike Hitchen]

Looking at the uncropped version, Bob I think it looks better without shadow recovery as the browns on the underside retain a richness that is missing in the original you posted.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Hi Bob,
Thank you. :)
I would suggest to not be afraid of shooting with a TC to gain magnification. That must be an awesome spot to be able to photograph raptors.
If I correctly recall Artie's book (The art of bird photography, now out of print I believe) he mentions a 96% increase of the subject with a 1.4x converter attached.
You would have loads of shutter speed available to freeze the moment still. :)