Tail Trail #2

[gail bisson]

4 years ago I was able to capture an eagle with a tail trail but I was a newbie with a Rebel XS and the 100-400.
Fast forward to yesterday with more experience and my 1DX and 100-400II with the 1.4X. I nailed the exposure this time around whereas 4 years ago I was seriously underexposed.
ISO 800 F 8 SS 1/2500.
PP: Raw converted in LR6, selected the forehead and reduced highlights in that area only, cropped to panorama and added 2% canvas on the LHS, levels and USM to JPEG.
I cloned out the bait that was floating in the water ( bits of chicken) and will post with and without bait. I think it is the backbone of the chicken.
We attract the gulls first with chicken. Once the gulls come in, they create quite a ruckus and this brings the eagles in- they know the gulls only go crazy when there is food! Once the eagles arrive, we will throw in the much more expensive whole fish. Unfortunately, half the time the gulls get the photogenic fish and a lot of the time the eagles pick up the chicken pieces. Always a crap shoot as to what happens!
The most annoying part of this is that many shots are photobombed by the gulls.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[gail bisson]

With the chicken bit.

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Gail,

Technically this image is great, nice light sharp details perhaps a bit lower angle would have been better. I also love the trail of water kind of like tier marks on a race track!

But there is one issue that holds it back IMO and that is the fact that it is obviously a baited situation with the bait Photoshop'ed out. Looking at the first image, the viewer keeps wondering what the eagle is diving for and what he is looking at and then immediately it becomes apparent that the bait was there and has been removed. It looks too artificial and for that purpose it doesn't work for me personally. don't get me wrong I don't have anything against responsible baiting or other attraction methods used in the field but it needs to be a bit more discrete. For example if you have the eagle taking off from the water with a nice splash where the chicken bit is not visible it's a lot better IMO.

This is a common issue with baited eagle shots, even when the bait is a whole dead fish it floats on the water and it's clear that's not a wild catch. I think the more successful dynamic frames are those that don't hint at the bait.


Keep up the good work

[gail bisson]

Hi Gail,

Technically this image is great, nice light sharp details perhaps a bit lower angle would have been better. I also love the trail of water kind of like tier marks on a race track!

But there is one issue that holds it back IMO and that is the fact that it is obviously a baited situation with the bait Photoshop'ed out. Looking at the first image, the viewer keeps wondering what the eagle is diving for and what he is looking at and then immediately it becomes apparent that the bait was there and has been removed. It looks too artificial and for that purpose it doesn't work for me personally. don't get me wrong I don't have anything against responsible baiting or other attraction methods used in the field but it needs to be a bit more discrete. For example if you have the eagle taking off from the water with a nice splash where the chicken bit is not visible it's a lot better IMO.

This is a common issue with baited eagle shots, even when the bait is a whole dead fish it floats on the water and it's clear that's not a wild catch. I think the more successful dynamic frames are those that don't hint at the bait.


Keep up the good work

I agree wholeheartedly with you Arash re: the bait and photoshopping it out and the issues it presents. That is why I posted the 2 pics!
But I still like the image because it represents some serious improvement in my skills. I wish i could find the image from 4 years ago to compare
Gail

[Karl Egressy]

Excellent image, great pose, IQ is perfect so is exposure, Gail.

[Grace Scalzo]

Technique is spot one and your skills certainly are showcased perfectly here with sharpness, exposure, all coming together . I appreciate Arash's comments and have the same reaction to baited shots of many species where there is no reason for the critter to be posing the way he is without bait.

[annmpacheco]

Beauty of an image and i'll take your word on "self-improvement!" I agree without seeing the photo you refer to four years ago. Thank you for your the comparison images and your pp information which teaches me a thing or two... (file this one in a time capsule to revisit in four years!)

[dankearl]

Great discussion by Arash and yourself, Gsil.
All being said, the tail drag water mark is really good........

[David Salem]

You sure have come a long way in a short time! Your skill is formidable and you have started to really understand exposure control. I think you have figured out that you can't always expose "only" for the whites as the darks in many different birds, especially BEs, will be underexposed and therefore be grainy. They may tell you that you can bring them back in post, but as I'm sure you have figured out, it's just not the case, at least if you want a high quality frame. This looks to be exposed perfectly and I'm sure if you had your highlight alert on, it would be flashing on the head a bit. This is what you would have to do to expose the "whole" bird properly.
Also if it is done right, you wind up with "Clean" and true whites, as in this frame. I don't like seeing grey whites.

I must say that I like and respect lots of the baited eagle images posted by the likes of yourself, Alan, Doug and many others but this one is just to close to the point of impact to be believable. The eagle is looking right at the spot that we can clearly see so it looks a bit odd that we can't see anything on or under the water.
Otherwise the pose and feather details are caught perfectly and that tail slide is way cool! Great work Gail

Thanks for posting the original for comparison.

[William Dickson]

Beautiful details Gail, lovely exposure and I also like the reflection aswell as the tail drag.

Will

[Gerald Kelberg]

We attract the gulls first with chicken. Once the gulls come in, they create quite a ruckus and this brings the eagles in- they know the gulls only go crazy when there is food! Once the eagles arrive, we will throw in the much more expensive whole fish. Unfortunately, half the time the gulls get the photogenic fish and a lot of the time the eagles pick up the chicken pieces. Always a crap shoot as to what happens!
The most annoying part of this is that many shots are photobombed by the gulls.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

Hi Gail,
It is a super sharp image of the eagle - great pose, light and detail. Tail skid adds to the action.
I don't find the image incomplete without the bait - I don't think I would necessarily expect to see a fish in the water if he was live hunting, so it doesn't bug me.

In terms of the feeding technique, people I have been with have been successful drawing the gulls in with bread and /or pellets of dog food. Then when the Eagle comes, one extra large scoop of food for the gulls and move the boat about 50 yards away before tossing in the fish (with wine cork inside for buoyancy), then move 'up-light' of the bait, ready for the Eagle. On a few occasions the Eagle would be slow or uninterested and the gulls would get the fish, but certainly not half the time.

Occasionally, get a 'photobomb' and even a gull chasing the eagle for the fish.

Always enjoy your images!

Regards, Gerald

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, I really like the light in this, and in turn, you have absolutely nailed the overall exposure and sharpness. Great timing to have captured the tail trail, and the extended legs and talons. With regards to the discussions above - even though its not a fish, I would have left the bait in. Great work.

[keith mitchell]

Gail you certainly caught the action, stretched out grabbing talons and a super sharp bird, very well caught .

On the subject of baiting in Langkawi Malaysia there was a lot of concern about the amount of chicken skins been fed to the Eagles effecting there health.


Keith.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Absolutely super shot Gail, the details are top notch - do you have any other frames as he eagle hits the water? I can envisage the feet just below water level and no visible bait.

[Frank Schauf]

Excellent incoming pose and sharp details, Gail.