Bald Eagle in flight
I finally managed to get some images of a Bald Eagle in flight as it banked into the light. I must say I am very happy with the 7D auto focus.
Details:
Canon 7D
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/1600
Av( Aperture Value ) 6.3
Metering Mode Spot Metering
ISO Speed 400
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF400mm f/5.6L USM
Garry, I have a 7D and was shooting Eagles this week as well. I plan to post soon - this is good wrk. What did you spot off?
Great BIF lens, maybe the best.
Great tail fan and full wing position. Love the glide position and feather detail. Bet your heart was pumping when this big guy can into the view finder - can you work the eye a tad and maybe another round of selection sharpening on the head.
Strong image.
Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 12-10-2009 at 09:02 PM.
Originally Posted by Jeff Cashdollar
Jeff,
My heart was going faster than that shutter :) I actually took spot off a tomb stone in the cemetry I was standing in.....
I got 5 images in series here and selected this one for the overall body position and framing.
I will spend time on those two areas to see the outputs.
Thanks mate.
G
Well,... then I can say the meter was dead on!
Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 12-11-2009 at 08:35 AM.
Nice overhead shot! The blue cloudless sky is a dead giveaway that you were shooting under high contrast conditions(direct sunlight), and getting proper exposure of both dark and light parts of a bird such as an eagle are virtually impossible. Expose the darks correctly, as you did here,(which would have been my choice as well) and you blow the whites, as you did here as well. The dilemma is that camera sensors can't capture the extreme range of luminosity that can exist under high contrast conditions, especially with white and dark plumaged birds. The only solution is to wait for softer(lower contrast) light that occurs with cloud cover, which acts as a giant diffuser, or maybe invent a method to take HDR images of a bird in flight! regards~Bill
Hi Gary Congrats on your eagle, they are exciting birds !!!
Love the layout position, might darken slightly the bird's body, adding black/neutral in selective color should do it. Would crop a little form left and bottom !! ...now all you need is one even larger in frame !!! Excellent !!!
Hi Gary - agree with all the good advice given above - like the wingspan and the composition. A little more sharpening in the head area for my tastes also :)
Hi Gary,
I like the capture, I agree with the techs. and good advise given, would like to see it a tad bigger in frame, aside from this, well done...:) Looking forward to your next one...:cool:
Garry, It's exciting to photograph these beautiful birds. In this case, the whites appear blown and colors are muddied by the the strong light, but the pose is great. The bird is too centered for my tastes, I'd suggest placement on the left to give it room to fly into. Focus seems to be on the wings, which does show good detail but the head is soft.
Thanks to all for the technical points. HDR would be ideal :)
Garry
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