We have a high population of Bald eagles in this part of Nova Scotia in winter, offering many photo ops. I'm always a bit wary of posting to various sites and forums as there are so many superb images of this species out there. This one was one of my first BIFs with the new D300, + usual Tamron 200-500, hand-held. I took 3 images in quick succession, and this was the one with the wing angle I liked the most. It was pretty low, and the sky was clear. Any comments? Would it look better with some clouds added to the background? Also, on close inspection there seem to be some compression artefacts in the sky, which are not present in the file before downsizing for the web.
Hi Richard Would be useful to see your shooting data
Got a sharp image with detail and a good bg Would suggest having more room in front of bird in direction he is flying and less on the back Full wing spread would have been good also
Reason for the tech info is to see exp comp Seems this was under exposed and you tried opening with PS There is a significant halo around the bird To avoid you can select the sky Inverse the selection and feather a couple of pixels Then apply the shadow highlight Will post the added canvas in a minute !!!
Must be nice having eagles around Good luck I'm sure you will have lots of chances !!!
Good comments from Alfred. Wing angle is nice. Best wing angle for an overhead shot like this is the "T" formation with the wings completely outstretched. Best way to get it is too keep snapping and hope for the best - that's what the rest of use due.
Exposure time: 1/5000 s
F number: 6.3
Exposure program: Aperture priority
ISO speed rating: 1000
Exif version: 0221
Exposure bias: 0.0
Metering mode: Pattern
Color Space: sRGB
Valid image width in pixel: 2144
Valid image height in pixel: 1424
Custom image processing: Normal process
Exposure method: Auto exposure
White balance: Auto white balance
Digital zoom ratio: 1.0
Focal length in 35 mm film: 750 mm
Compression scheme: JPEG
Quality: FINE
White Balance: AUTO
Focus Mode: AF-S
Flash Setting: NORMAL
Noise Reduction: OFF
Richard Can make a couple of suggestions seeing the exif data
Would lower the ISO since you don't need that much shutter speed Images will look better at lower ISOs
The exp compensation for a bird going overhead should have been + something Probably + 1 1/3 or more
Opening more would give you detail under the wings without having to do Shdow/highglight
Would strongly suggest shooting in RAW Will see an immediate difference
BIF Bald Eagle
