Young Bonelli Eagle

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi Guys,

Here is an image of a Bonelli's Eagle (Aquila fasciata) taken in central Spain earlier this year. They are from the Booted Eagle sub-species/family, and although their range quite widespread, they are not that common. This is a young adult - an older bird be darker on the top half and paler on the breast/underside. I couldn't say what age precisely.

Personally, I think they are an exceptionally beautiful bird.

I took the shot from a hide (through glass) and the bird was baited. Note how full the birds crop is! I was using the Sony A9II with the FE 200-600 lens at 441mm. Shutter speed 1/1600 sec, F/7.1 and ISO 800.

I worked directly from the RAW file, using Lr to adjust some of the tonality and warmer spots. Also used the Noise slider in Lr to smooth the background slightly. In PS I removed some minor traces of the bait (most of it had already been removed by the bird) and output the image to size, adding USM to the final output size image.

Think I am getting the hang of this now, but always appreciative of you comments and feedback.

Gerald

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Gerald ... this Eagle looks stunning , look into that eye !!!
Apart from being a bit tight on top and bottom .... for me ... the image does look great .
Nicely isolated subject .... nice warm colors and a good tonal range .
Perfect posing ... what more to ask for

Keep them coming

TFS Andreas

[Jonathan Ashton]

Absolutely super shot, the colours look very yellow to me. I have attached an alternative for your consideration - is it miles out????

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for making the effort to correct and repost - appreciated!

The reality is probably somewhere between the two. Albeit there was beautiful warm, late afternoon light and since we all pray for beautiful light, it seems a shame to undo it, in my opinion.

Regards, Gerald

[Daniel Cadieux]

I think somewhere between the two (but closer to the original) would be best. I love that eye! Only wish for more light on the back half of the subject, but from a hide not much you could do there. Super nice overall!