Bald Eagle Duo

[Adhika Lie]

I am working on this image of two Bald Eagles. Standard processing includes exposure adjustments, WB correction, and selective sharpening. I cleaned up the bokeh in the background quite heavily. There was too many dead sticks on the ground at that time. I have also expanded the canvas on top and removed the bottom. I am still second guessing myself about the rather implied horizon.

What draws me here is the interaction and contrast between the two eagles. One adult, one juvenile. One eating, one wanting to eat/steal the food. There is some tension there. And, I want to say judging from their size the adult is a male, and the juvenile is a female.

Focus was on the juvenile's eyes so that one is tack sharp and thank goodness for f/8, the other eagle is still in the depth of field.

Does this photo work in terms of content and what I am trying to "convey"? What else can be improved in terms of processing?

This is shot handheld at 450mm, f/8.0, 1/640, ISO1000 from a boat floating on the river.

[Diane Miller]

A great moment captured here! The foot in mid-air conveys the action very well. This must be a hungry teenager... Focus and image quality look excellent.

Hard to say what is best for the "horizon" -- the secondary one that is quite OOF (far river bank?) does look level. In a case like this I just tweak till it looks best.

I'm not sure changing the processing would change anything about what the image conveys, unless you want to get into creative stuff. It tells a great story, and makes the viewer wonder what is going on between the two. I tend to lean pretty heavily toward bringing out detail in the darks, so if anything, that is what I would have a look at, but only a very slight amount. This is obviously soft and low light, and you don't want to try to counter that mood.

But on second thought, it would be interesting to mask the juvenile's head and lighten it a little to bring it out from the wing.

My inclination would be to crop a little off the top.

Wonderful image -- hope to see more!!

[Adhika Lie]

Thanks so much Diane. I agree with the idea of lifting up the shadows on the juvie a little bit. I think it will help balance the 'brightness' of the adult eagle. Thanks so much for your inputs!

[Eric Dienesch]

i like this moment, the eagles are captured in a great moment. the distance seems to be not so far away.
you did not had much light; but it is for me still a very good and imrpessive document .

i wish i could reach pictures like these on my trip to florida in 3 weeks !
TFS

[Glennie Passier]

Late to this party as well. Adhika, I really like this. Well seen and well captured! Agree with Diane about lightening the young ones face a tad. I'm not sure about the blue/grey rocks in the FG. I wonder if burning them down a bit would make a difference?

Beautiful image and story.

[Adhika Lie]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

I'm not sure about the blue/grey rocks in the FG. I wonder if burning them down a bit would make a difference?

That's an easy fix. I will give it a try. I think it will bring the focus to the birds even more! Thanks for the suggestion!

i wish i could reach pictures like these on my trip to florida in 3 weeks !

Good luck on your trip! :)