Straight Down the Barrel - Bald Eagle - Don't mess with me.

[Matt Shetzer]

Don't mess with me.
Staring down the camera as a Bald Eagle holds on to his salmon dinner on the Chilkoot River, Alaska.

Nikon D300, 1/800sec, F.4, 500mm, ISO 500, Manual Mode

I have to say, I was a bit intimidated !
Thanks for the CC.
Matt

[Randy Stout]

Matt:

Perfect for the theme this month. Soft light allowed excellent exposure balance between lights and darks, like the fluffed up, detailed head feathers, curved rock perch.

Very well captured.

Cheers

Randy

[Herb Houghton]

Nice capture Matt. I like the exposure and the look is straight on. Only tiny nit would have been to include the whole fish.

[Joerg Rockenberger]

Great portrait. Exposure is excellent. Perch and salmon add a lot IMO. Nice background as well. Do wish though one could see the entire fish.

I am surprised about the apparent large DOF given that your aperture was F4. JR

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Nice techs, good whites and darks - metered well. The feathered head is killer - only nit, a bit tight.

[Arthur Morris]

Well done on the black and white detail. I would actually go to more of a vertical pano crop to avoid the impression that you clipped the tail.

Did you provide the "plate" for the salmon?

[Matt Shetzer]

Arthur,
The salmon on the rock was left by a bear. There was a Sow and 2 cubs who were eating fish on the river. They were being very selective, and pulling the almost dead fish out for the water, taking a nibble, and moving on. The cubs did not like getting wet, so they would pull their catches up on the rocks.

I'm not a big fan of baiting in the wild, and there is no need in Haines as there are so many eagles and fish.

Matt