I don't see an abundance eagles in my area (but seem to be getting more common) and when I do, they usually aren't close enough for decent photos. On this day, there was a light snow falling and I was lucky enough to get a few shots of this one. I wish the BG were different but it is what it is/was. :)
D3S
300 f/2.8
f/2.8
1/1250
+2/3 ev
ISO 200
H/H, no flash, cropped and sharpened some in Aperture
This is a beautiful bird. I like the feather detail and the sharp eye. The background doesn't bother me. It gives it a mottled look but the bird is majestic enough to draw attention without distraction by background.. My wife and I were at a nesting sight last week and know how hard it is to get a shot like this. Even sitting, it is hard to get a clean shot. You got a good one.
love the colors and the detail in the wings - don't mind the bg at all. wonder if lightening the head just a little would make it stand out a little more. wish we had eagles here - but hope to see some someday. lovely.
I noticed what Pat noticed - the head gets a bit lost in the light of the BG. I'd suggest darkening up the sky in lieu of changing the lightness of the head, though...just to see if that gives you a bit more separation from the BG while retaining the look of the head that matches the tail.
Yes, he's flying away from you and that's not ideal, but you do have eye contact and you did a very nice job of exposing both the blacks and whites (thanks to overcast skies!) Nicely done!
For me, the fact that you got eye contact, the head is turned slightly towards you and you have a good exposure makes this a keeper. Especially if you don't have the oppurtunity to shoot hem very often.
I agree that the BG is a bit busy but the Eagle still stands out from it.
Peter
very nice shot. I understand what a bonus opportunity when baldy shows up in areas where they are not in abundance. I am headed to our eagle festival in Louisiana in about 3 weeks and would be very proud of this shot. Focus looks very good to me and capturing the wing position as you did is great.
I am sure the folks that tell you to work on the background are right and will only help you get better since this is the eager to learn forum. I for one would be glad to capture what you did as well as you did since that is where you start-and then experiment with their suggestions to improve the image more.
Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. I tried to darken the sky a bit as Julie suggested so as to separate the head from the background per Pat and Julie's comments. Here is a repost.
I am not sure I darkened the sky so much as I gave it a bluer tint. I wasn't sure how best to darken the sky using Aperture as a program. I don't use photoshop and eventually will need to get that and learn it, I suppose. Suggestions?
Tom, I like it better. I can't help you with Lightroom - I don't use it so not sure what to recommend. In Photoshop it would be a levels (or curves) adjustment with the light or midtones being brought down just a little bit. I think you did well with what you did here, though - the blue does help separate the head from the BG.
Baldy
