Bald Eagle Stall

[Robert O'Toole]

Back from traveling and glad to finally have some time to share some recent images.

This was made just last month during one of my summer Bald Eagle workshops and I love this one for the cool wing positioning and the jade colored water color. The eagle dropped down at an extreme angle and banked just before stalling and dragging its tail before snatching a herring (bait).

An interesting story about this image is that Sigma was nice enough to Fedex me a 150-500mm OS lens ( I have a contract to supply images). This would be my first time using it and I will admit I was skeptical of the AF and image quality because of the long zoom range. I was very pleasantly surprised once I had a change to view the images full size. The image quality is very impressive and the reach and flexibility was fantastic in the field even on a FX /full frame body. I am happy to report that this lens can easily make 'professional' quality images and has to be one of the, if not the best value out there for Price, IQ and performance.

Nikon D700 with MB-D10 and Sigma 150 to 500mm OS HSM @ 350mm. Manual mode 1/1250th @ F8 and ISO 1250. No Flash,

Slightly cropped at the bottom edge for my display ratio.

Image Copyright 2010: Robert OToole Photography .com

[Keith Carver]

Love the tail-in-water, reflection, head angle and jade BG, Robert! Excellent EXP and very sharp - a compelling image for the Sigma 150-500!

[Mike Tracy]

I like the tail dragger and its swirling reflection. The wing position is cool. The top of the the head looks too bright with out detail. I am seeing twin " mickey mouse heads" to the left top of his right wing and can't figure what they are.

[Robert O'Toole]

Thanks for the comments.

The top of the the head looks too bright with out detail.

Mike I just had my monitor calibrated last week so all I can say is thanks, but check your monitor, and your mileage may vary.

I am seeing twin " mickey mouse heads" to the left top of his right wing and can't figure what they are.

Maybe water reflection shapes.

Robert

[Gal Shon]

Wonderful pose and Comp. love the tail in the water.

[Randy Stout]

Robert:

The wing spread/talons out/ tail dragging make the image. Nice transillumination of tail.
A bit more room top and bottom for me.
There is a bit of noise creeping in the image, looks almost a bit grainy.

But, no doubt, the impact is great!

Cheers

Randy

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Cool pose and water trail, I also like the sharpness and water colors. Another vote for NR on the BG and it looks a bit contrasty on my monitor. It would be interesting to see a slightly wider crop.

[Robert O'Toole]

Robert:

......There is a bit of noise creeping in the image, looks almost a bit grainy. But, no doubt, the impact is great!
Cheers
Randy

......... Another vote for NR on the BG and it looks a bit contrasty on my monitor.

Thanks for the comments guys,

The Body used was a Nikon D700 and only at ISO 1250, but, since the BG is underexposed it does show some noise.
Since the body is Nikon the noise shows up as Lumi or grainy noise and not color noise as you will see on my other camera bodies.
I dont mind the noise so much, thanks for the feedback all the same!

Robert

[James Shadle]

The wing spread/talons out/ tail dragging make the image. Nice transillumination of tail.
A bit more room top and bottom for me.
I agree with Randy on the above.

There is a bit of noise creeping in the image, looks almost a bit grainy.
I looked pretty dang (pardon my language) close and did not notice any negative noise issues.

Excellent EXP and very sharp - a compelling image for the Sigma 150-500!
I agree with Keith, however Keith sounds surprised that a Sigma 150-500 will produce sharp images. I on the other hand am not surprised.
Optically the lens is capable of producing sharp images and it was in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. So, no surprise for me.

Congrats on a beautiful, action packed image.

[Robert O'Toole]

The wing spread/talons out/ tail dragging make the image. Nice transillumination of tail.
A bit more room top and bottom for me.
I agree with Randy on the above.

More room might look nice but I just feel so lucky that I didnt clip any wing tips!

Thanks for taking time to comment James!

Robert

[Art Kornienko]

Sure is an excellent pose and catch. I too find it a bit contrasty and noisy, a bit more room top and bottom would have been nice.

[Arthur Morris]

Love the pose and the dragging tail. The whites looked too bright until I checked the calibration strip.... This monitor needs to be angled away more than any of my other HPs... Lesson learned. Love the BKGR color.

[Mike Lentz]

I'd be very happy to have this image in my files! :cool: