Tawny Eagle

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

This Eagle was feeding on the ground. It had its prey hidden in the bushes and was pecking at it.
7D and 100-400 L
1/500
f/5.6
ISO 400

Tawny eagle1 by docsanjeev, on Flickr

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Sanjeev,

How does the histogram look and what was the time, the image seems a bit bright. The first thing that come to mind is the bird could be moved to the corner cropping off some negative space on the top and bottom would be helpful too. When shooting at the ground very important to get the composition simple and remove as many distracting elements as possible.

The subject is great, very powerful and regal, nice find. I would use levels and curves to increase mid tones and increase the image pop: on balance--->adjust the subject placement and look over the histogram, the shutter speed might be low for pure sunlight. You have captured a intense moment in the cycle of life put more focus on the face and behavior of the subject - that is where the action is - that is the story here.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Thank you Jeff, The histogram was to the right of center with a little clipping of highlights, I guess the head was a bit over exposed. It was in the evening around four. I agree on the composition and will try a tighter crop to lay more emphasis on the subject.
Regards
Sanjeev

[Kerry Perkins]

Sanjeev, there is no solution to this lighting situation. The camera cannot resolve the range of light that exists in this image and as a result it is overexposed. If you look only at the bird, the image is striking - but the camera does not discriminate like the human brain does. It sees everything with equal intensity, including the background. This is why we strive to capture our subjects against backgrounds that are farther away.