I've not been able to spend any time on the site lately due to work deadlines. I did however manage to break away for three days to the Kruger National Park last week. I got this African Hawk-Eagle taking off from the side of the road, a species I have been wanting to photograph for years!
Beautiful looking birds. Whites look great and having the clouds in the sky a real plus. Dark back wing good as it gave the beak and head separation. Otherwise they would have gotten lost in a merge.
I would try a reverse s-curve to lower contrast somewhat.
Fantastic shot Chris, the bird must have been very close to you when he took off. I like the good detail on the eagles face, love the cloud in the BG and upright wings TFS
What a fantastic image...Great exposure and IQ... Saw plenty of them on the reserve I used to work on (Makalali) in Limpopo...But always struggled to get a decent image of one...Had a really nice sighting about 4weeks ago had a pair hunting and perching about 5m from my game viewer...I was shooting them at 70-100mm...Thanks for sharing this great image Chris.
I actually saw these for the first time in January in Savute, a pair, thoroughly soaked after a torrential hailstorm. Very high up and very little light, so it is great to see one in such detail