Martial Eagle fly by

[Mark Wiseman]

I took this image of a martial eagle taking off from Nossob camp waterhole. They are Africa's largest eagle and a majestic raptor. I tried to impress upon the viewer how beautiful these birds are as many farmers regard them as a threat to small livestock and kill them rather than conserve and protect them. The image was taken at 13h45 (GMT+2).
Image details:
Canon EOS 1Ds Mk II
EF 500mm f4 LUIS lens
Aperture: f4
Shutter speed: 1/2500
Compensation: +0.7
ISO: 200
Any comments welcome.

[Randy Stout]

Mark:

What an impressive bird. His underparts make me smile though, looks like he still has his pajamas on! Very strong sense of his environment, like the little spit of mud, nice angle in the frame.

I might try to lighten the shadows on the underparts just a bit.

Shadow a plus.

Look forward to more.

Cheers

Randy

[RakeshDhareshwar]

A very strong looking raptor ...handsome too !!! The lighting seems a bit harsh ,was this taken in the afternoon ?? Agree with Randy on lightening up the shadow ...but overall this image is awesome !!!

[Randy Bronkema]

I would like to see a touch more detail under the wing too, On this image I would crop some off the right side so that the bird is not so center. This is a great shot!!!!

Randy

[Arthur Morris]

Nice liftoff pose, sharp, and a cool bird. Instead of lightening the shadows you might try toning down the whites in the near leg to even out the EXP. Harsh light and a less than ideal BKGR--the bird--esp. the head--are not well separated from the BKGR.

[Emily Norman]

What an impressive and fierce looking bird, I really like the light in his eyes. I think you worked admirably with the harsh light, and I agree that maybe a few of the above adjustments could help that leg in the shadows.