This was taken at Joe Overstreet. There was a pair of eagles sitting on an electric pole near the end of the road. An eagle on a pole is not what I wanted so I waited. And waited. They sat there for what seemed like forever looking right down at me. Finaly one took of right at me and I missed it. Then waited another ten minutes until the second one left. He took off at a better angle. I know the light is harsh. My lens isn't fast enough to get good flight shots unless there is alot of light.(someday i'll get that 2.8) I lightened it some and then I get noise in the sky. Should I be using in camera noise reduction? C&C much appreciated.
Nikon D80, 80-400, 1/2500,f6.3, ISO 200, 195mm handheld
Hi Judy - Nice Eagle you have done well with the harsh light none of the whites look blown. You do have a few shadows but still awesome bird.
I would like to see some more space in front of the bird - I wouldn't use IN CAMERA noise reduction better to do it in post processiing.
Made a couple of quick changes (all done very quickly - you can do much better epecially with the original full size image) - added some canvas , Noise reduction on the background and sharpened the eye, applied a little bit of shadow/highlight to see if it would lighten the shadows up a bit, I would also tone the Blue sky down a little.
looking forward to more :)
Last edited by Lance Peters; 01-19-2009 at 11:19 PM.
Patience really paid off for you Judy. Nice action shot. Looks like the eagle is going for a fish. The additional space in Lance's repost does feel more natural. Good shot.
Dave
Judy, I love Joe Overstreet for Eagles. I think you did very well for a BIF HH. I like the extra canvas and NR also like the toned down sky. Well done!
Hi Judy You got a fine flying eagle image !!! Not bad at all !!!
Pose wise is strong just wish the other wing was up but as presented a keeper in my book !!! The lens your using is very sharp just difficult for birds in flight since it is slow to AF.
I like re post with the extra room, noise reduction and sharpening. Would do a little less shadow/highlight, original doesn't look bad at all !! Big Congrats on this one !!!
Nice exposure control in the hard light. The 80-400 can produce sharp images, but is slow to focus. Having your focus preset, and anticipating the flight direction, helps. I like the added canvas. If you have Capture NX2 it is very easy to paint in NR on the image.
Hi Judy,
a very nice capture indeed...I like the sharp details and color rendition. The flight angle is very nice...agree with Mr. Peters' repost on adding the canvas to give the eagle more room to fly into...
I do see a halo along the upper portion of the head on the repost...congratulation Judy...well done...looking forward to your next one...:cool:
Bald Eagle
