My Eagle in flight

[Brownbear]

As most folks likely know I've been trying to capture an shot of an Eagle in flight that I adore...

A special thank you to Dan (Northern Focus) who has shared many tips and insights about photographing these birds, and thank you to everyone for your continued encouragement.


Here he/she is...

The light is nice, the bokeh is lovely, and the Eagle is sharp, and it kind of looks like a Chinese watercolour. Even though I clipped the wing tips a bit, I'm still happy. And now that I've posted I can see that there are some funky blue tones in the bird that I need to attend to, and will do.

#1


Another shot that I like, that I will be revisiting in order to clone out the messy branch in the foreground. However in the interest of sharing these before my cloning skills have improved, posted with the messy branch.

# 2 (could've used a little more DOF (blurred wing)


A couple of numerous perched images...

3.



#4.


#5




f/4 SS 1/1600 for all (because a sharp in flight was my goal)
ISO from 140-640 (Auto ISO set to 800 max)
Focal length 300 mm (First 3 images cropped a wee bit off of the back, and the last image cropped a fair bit to eliminate a lot of empty sky.)

From my past few months of trying to capture an Eagle in flight image I think I've learned the importance of having more patience. These images (in my view) show improvement over my past Eagle in flights simply because I've gotten to know these Eagles. (this is one of a pair) Similarly I believe they have become accustomed to my presence which allowed me to be very close, and not having to use an extender on my 300 mm lens means better image quality. Also having the patience to wait out and seek nice light makes it so much easier to focus, allowing the use of lower ISOs.


Of course I'm still dreaming of capturing an image of an Eagle flying towards me with a fish in its beak, over beautifully coloured water, but that one might take me a few years to capture.

Note... Edited images
1. Lowered highlights to bring out more detail, eliminated blue tones
2. Cloned out the messy branch
4. Replaced with another shot with the stick behind the bird, easier to clone out
5. Additions similar to 4 but no stick in the scene

[dje]

Nice work Christina, your patience has payed off ! Great captures with good clarity.

Dave

[Geoff F]

Good crisply focused action shots, Christina. A pity about the wing tip in #2 because otherwise it is a perfect angle.

Trouble with flying birds, as you know, is if they are small it is so difficult to obtain a sufficiently large image; and they often move so fast that it is tricky to get a definite focus on them.

And even with bigger slower birds it often means a compromise between shutter speed, aperture and Iso unless you get perfect shooting conditions.

[DEAN01]

Nicely done, Christina! I really like number two, the slight blur of the wing is not objectionable.

[NorthernFocus]

...From my past few months of trying to capture an Eagle in flight image I think I've learned the importance of having more patience. These images (in my view) show improvement over my past Eagle in flights simply because I've gotten to know these Eagles. (this is one of a pair) Similarly I believe they have become accustomed to my presence which allowed me to be very close, and not having to use an extender on my 300 mm lens means better image quality. Also having the patience to wait out and seek nice light makes it so much easier to focus, allowing the use of lower ISOs...

I think you've arrived All you are lacking is opportunity and based on these comments, those moments will come. You're demonstrating the field craft as well as the photography skills. Really nicely done.

What I like about all of these shots (in addition to the technical quality) is the subtle information showing the environment in which they are shot. Not intrusive but enough to set context and provide the viewer with a feeling of the setting. You're really pulling it together. My only real critique is on the third one. That branch/log sticking up in front of the bird has to go.

Nikon should hire you for advertising for what you're doing with that 7100/300 combo. You go girl

[Brownbear]

Thank you Dave, Geoff and Dean... Truly appreciated. Of course I will keep at it with every opportunity that arises.

Geoff... Yes, I've finally come to learn that with birds it is always a compromise. Tree Swallows are back in town and if I can manage to fill half the frame with one of these in flight I'll be delighted. I have another of #2 with a bit of a messy background but a better wingtip so I'm going to revisit that one and see if I can make the background pure white.

Dean... Thank you. Provides a sense of motion.

[Stagecoach]

Wonderful work Christina !

All of them spot on sharp, perfect background bokeh with just enough detail in it to show the birds habitat. The clipped wing and blurred wing tip do not bother me at all.

True quality

Grahame

[Brownbear]

Thank you Dan. The Eagles should still be around for another month, so hopefully the weather will cooperate.

I followed the Eagles from their perch in a tree to the beach, and prefer this setting so will try again. Thank you for commenting on the branch, "I thought so"... Removing the branch is beyond my cloning skills (to do it perfectly) but I have several other perched shots so I''ll revisit those.

Thank you. Another dreamer...

I think you've arrived All you are lacking is opportunity and based on these comments, those moments will come. You're demonstrating the field craft as well as the photography skills. Really nicely done.

What I like about all of these shots (in addition to the technical quality) is the subtle information showing the environment in which they are shot. Not intrusive but enough to set context and provide the viewer with a feeling of the setting. You're really pulling it together. My only real critique is on the third one. That branch/log sticking up in front of the bird has to go.

Nikon should hire you for advertising for what you're doing with that 7100/300 combo. You go girl

[Brownbear]

Thank you, Grahame...

Truly appreciated. For sure I will be trying for more images showing a hint of the environment.

I hope to post a quality soap bubble in about a week.

Wonderful work Christina !

All of them spot on sharp, perfect background bokeh with just enough detail in it to show the birds habitat. The clipped wing and blurred wing tip do not bother me at all.

True quality

Grahame

[Shadowman]

I like the angle of the in flight birds, the portraits are spot on as well.

[Brownbear]

Thank you, John. Truly appreciated.

I like the angle of the in flight birds, the portraits are spot on as well.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I am so jealous. We don't have any eagles around to photograph. About all we ever get is an occasional hawk, which is usually being chased away by the crows around here.
Very nice pictures, and descriptions of what it took to produce them. Perseverance. Yours has paid off. Thank you for sharing with us all.

[Marie Hass]

Dear Christina,

Focus in spot on in all of your images. #2 is my favorite.

Your love of these birds really shows in the care you have taken in capturing your images.

Marie

[Brownbear]

Alan,

Thank you. The eagles are not close to where I live (mostly seagulls, crows, ducks and geese), and are about a 2 hour trip one way, and capturing an inflight that I actually like has involved numerous trips, so perseverance as they say but also encouragement from everyone here. Hawks, another to put on my to do list.

Dear Marie,

Thank you. #1 is my favourite . Truly appreciated.

[Marie Hass]

Dear Christina,

I can understand why #1 is your personal favorite. You have worked awfully hard to get these shots.

Marie

[Rita]

Your perseverance and hard work has really paid off here Christina. Well done!

[Nicks Pics]

Great shots! I think very nice detail in the birds and I like the soft bright background, and a little ground - level scenery, it gives a hint of a bright foggy morning, which ads another dimension to good BIF shots. It is also neat that this is not an ordinary adult eagle, but a juv. which makes these photos a little more unique. Did you try different crops to position the bird a little more on the right side of the frame when flying/facing toward the left? It may not be a necessary rule to fallow, if you think they work better as is.

PS. You mentioned you used auto ISO set to 800 max. I have been trying to use that but when I set an ISO level, say it was 800, then turn the front dial to set ISO to auto(while still showing set to 800) the camera seems to misbehave and use whatever ISO it wants, even if it is far higher. Can you give me any tips on how to set a max auto ISO?

[JBW]

Beautiful! #1 is Art. What I am about to suggest will sound ridiculous but I swear it works. If you have enough room to fly a kite where the eagles usually fly they will often come and soar with the kite. This does require a decent wind but it means that the eagle is for all intents and purposes stationary.

[Barbara Ponder]

Great job Christina! Lovely images!

[Jill]

Great shots

The thing that keep me going in photography is that no matter how good a shot is, I can always do better.
Sounds like that is where you are.
"Of course I'm still dreaming of capturing an image of an Eagle flying towards me with a fish in its beak, over beautifully coloured water, but that one might take me a few years to capture."