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Thread: Bald eagle and Juvenile bald eagle showing off

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    Default Bald eagle and Juvenile bald eagle showing off

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    This image was created in the afternoon at 3:16pm near Homer, Alaska.

    Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS lens and TC 1.4x II at 150mm, and the EOS-1DMIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering: 1/1600 sec. at f/5.6 set manually.

    All comments are welcome.

    More eagle images from my recent trip to Alaska at www.clemensvanderwerf.com
    Last edited by Arthur Morris; 04-10-2012 at 05:00 PM.

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    BPN Member Alan Murphy's Avatar
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    Killer action. Wish the lower bird was not merged, but both being sharp is awesome.

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    Great action and IQ - great website Clemens. The IQ of all the images is very very high.

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    Super Moderator arash_hazeghi's Avatar
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    awesome pose sharpness and exposure plus the intimate interaction well done!
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    Great exposure and sharpness, Clemens. I really like the distinct bands of snow and sky too. I thought the same thing as Alan regarding the merging of the two birds.

    Cheers,
    Greg

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    Brilliant action very well captured Clemens.

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    You lucky eaglechaser, this is a splendid photograph! The layercake look appeals very much, i.e. the layer of snow at image's bottom. These eagles are glorious! O o o! I must get to Alaska before I'm dead and gone! I've been dreaming of Alaska since I was a boy!

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    Amazing action, and I love the falling snow. Looks a tad oversharpened on my monitor, but man-o-man what an image.

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    Hi Clemens,
    I really like the IQ of this image and how large they are in the frame. It doesn't bother me one itty little bit that the birds are merged. I think that the action portrayed allows them to be connected. Love the low angle and colors are spot on to the colors of "my Nova Scotian" eagles! I Like the snowflakes. The snow on the bottom fools the eye into thinking this is a panorama crop and that is a good thing as it compliments the full wing stretch of the mature eagle. Good look at the eyes of both eagles,
    Gail

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Snow, sharpness, and action superb. The merges bothers me immensely. An inch lower and you would be famous
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    A great action shot! Killer action shot!

    I'd like to know Artie why you are bothered with the merge?

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves Guillot View Post
    A great action shot! Killer action shot! I'd like to know Artie why you are bothered with the merge?
    A good question. It is difficult to put my answer into words. My brain wants to see two completely distinct birds duking it out. The merge keeps me from doing that. Imagine more and more of a merge so that the birds become indistinguishable--once a merge starts that is where you are headed.

    Furthermore, merges upset compositional balance whether in a flock/flight image or one of two birds fighting like this one.

    General advice; avoid merges at all costs.....

    Clemens: please share your thoughts on the merge.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    A good question. It is difficult to put my answer into words. My brain wants to see two completely distinct birds duking it out. The merge keeps me from doing that. Imagine more and more of a merge so that the birds become indistinguishable--once a merge starts that is where you are headed.

    Furthermore, merges upset compositional balance whether in a flock/flight image or one of two birds fighting like this one.

    General advice; avoid merges at all costs.....

    Clemens: please share your thoughts on the merge.
    Well, I agree that no merges is preferred, and need to be avoided, but in situations like this you do not really have a choice. The action happens so unexpectedly fast that it is already difficult enough to keep both birds in the frame without any wing clippings, etc. If than both birds are sharp and there are no other distraction elements around that are impossible to deal with (there will always be a couple of bystanders), you got a pretty good shot. The merge in this case is pretty minimal, and does in my opinion not take away from the action and the eagles (wings, head angle, claws).
    Moving an inch lower would have solved the merge, but at the moment of capture you have no idea in which direction they will move. The action is over in two seconds. Repositioning is not really an option.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    I agree that it is sharp with both birds in focus. And that the merge is minimal. And as far as the difficulty of capturing the action I am familiar with that .

    And I agree that it's a "pretty good shot." But you know what I am after and I know what you are after!
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    Lifetime Member Marina Scarr's Avatar
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    Absolutely kick butt capture. No merge would have put this one in a league of its own, there is no doubt about that. That said, this is still a brilliant image with great IQ and sharpness of both birds. Love those extended wings and talons. Also really like the fact that you can see the plumage differences between the adult and juvenile.
    Last edited by Marina Scarr; 04-09-2012 at 08:29 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    I agree that it is sharp with both birds in focus. And that the merge is minimal. And as far as the difficulty of capturing the action I am familiar with that .

    And I agree that it's a "pretty good shot." But you know what I am after and I know what you are after!
    Couldn't agree more. It is a bit like shooting pleasing blurs. You need to take a lot and might win the lottery one day! Got two more that I will safe for the BAA Comp.

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    Totally killer shot !! Awesome action , and the IQ is something anybody would love to get .

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    One (or two or more???) more thing that I might add : it happens in less than one second (not two as you mentioned Clemens) and both are over the horizon line which could also have been an element of distraction. More over, I think that you could easily correct the merge in PS. Anyway a GREAT action action shot and a possible winner image?

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the merge Artie and Clemens!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves Guillot View Post
    One (or two or more???) more thing that I might add : it happens in less than one second (not two as you mentioned Clemens) and both are over the horizon line which could also have been an element of distraction. More over, I think that you could easily correct the merge in PS. Anyway a GREAT action action shot and a possible winner image?

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the merge Artie and Clemens!
    Yves, although the merge might be corrected in PS, I am not in favor of doing so.

    The action is what it is, and happens very fast. You typically get 3 images in an action sequence, but all have something that is not perfect. A merge, or HA's not ideal, lot of bystanders merging in the background, etc. You have to work with the best one from the sequence. The ultimate image is indeed the one that is sharp, has no merges, perfect HA's and pose, and no distracting elements in the bkgd. To get all that perfect is pretty much winning the lottery, but you always strive to get that one perfect image. You just have to make sure that your starting position (exposure, focal length, composition, etc) is as perfect as possible, and let the birds do their job!

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    Clemens, interesting discussion that I enjoyed reading. there are so many things to like here that I dont know where to start and stop. Most has been said above anyways. Personally, I am fine with the merge...because it is not that much. the action, the IQ, the orientation of the birds w.r.t sensor....killer stuff.

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    One more question Clemens : were you with Alan Murphy for those shots? You do have shots that look A LOT like his.

    I agree and respect your opinion Clemens about not doing the PS unmerging work even if it could have been interesting to see, in order to get a feeling of it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves Guillot View Post
    One more question Clemens : were you with Alan Murphy for those shots? You do have shots that look A LOT like his.

    I agree and respect your opinion Clemens about not doing the PS unmerging work even if it could have been interesting to see, in order to get a feeling of it.
    I did not meet Alan up in Homer as he left already when I arrived, but we both hang out with Robert O'Toole.

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    Thanks Clemens for this added info!

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves Guillot View Post
    One more question Clemens : were you with Alan Murphy for those shots?
    Alan was in the right place in Homer due to the kindness of my friend, partner, and co-leader Robert O'Toole.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    Wow! Would a little detail in the snow have helped or hurt this?

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    Superb action shot. Excellent job on getting both eagles in the frame and to also get them sharp. Exposed very well and excelllent comp too.
    Well done.

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    A great action situation, congratulations.

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