This is my first try at nesting Bald Eagles. We have a pair breeding within city limits of nearby Moncton, New Brunswick. This is one of the parents returning to the nest where there are two chicks. I should have a lot more opportunity to practice on these as the chicks will be around for another few weeks.
I was using flash most of the time but for this image I had the unit switch off (not intentional!). The flash would have been useful to fill the underwing. I ran some noise reduction to this area of the image because it was underexposed. I clipped the extreme right wing of the bird and so added tips from an image of the same bird and some canvas at the top.
40D, 500mm f4
capture date: Sunday, July 13, 2008 7:16:04 PM
exposure program: Aperture Priority
ISO speed: 640
shutter speed: 1/2500
aperture: f4.0
exposure bias: +0.3
metering: Pattern
light source: Auto
flash: OFF
Even without flash its a very nice image! Love the pose - especially the open mouth and the outstretched feet. The BG is really nice - did you do a bit of blur to smooth it out or was that all DOF?
Hey John, Very nicely done. Did you see the scratching explanation for the serrated Blue-footed Booby toes? IAC, I love the perch and the raised wings. Here is a great lesson for all: you wrote that the underwings were underexposed (pretty good detail there IAC). When we properley expose for the whites in a black and white bird the darks are by necessity 1 3/4 to two stops underexposed! All the time every time. And this does not even take into account that the dark underwing areas are almost always shaded (as they are here...) So needed to lighten these dark areas and run some NR is the norm. One trick that works is to use SH/H and then boost the mid-tone contrast slider...
The eye of this bird looks great; did you do any work on it?
Lastly, love the time with the bird calling and the feet outstretched to the perch.
BTW, are there any restrictions on approaching the nests up there?
Would this be a Canadian Bald Eagles as opposed to the fame American Bald Eagle :D
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Superb action John. Love the talons that are ready to land and the outstretched wings but the open beak really isa great bonus. You do not see this too often. Beautiful work indeed !!!
Thanks to all for great comments. Nothing done to the eye Artie. The standard Levels I did made the head pop a little better against the sky. Eagles are protected in Canada by the provinces but as far as I know there are no restrictions on approach so long as the birds are not obviously disturbed. This particular nest is visited by many people every night and they do not appear to know we are down below. Of course the Canadian version of the American icon is pictured! I agree this bird needs a moult- its tail and primaries are a mess.
Thakns for the extra info. The ORIG eye is way, way sharp!
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
If I remember I did two rounds of sharpening after final sizing of image- I think both were 50-75%, 0.2 or 0.3, in Ps Smart Sharpen. No selective sharpening of the eye.