Bald Eagle In Flight...

[jprzybyla]

On Monday my wife and I were at our favorite area for bird photography. All morning we saw eagles flying and roosting in the middle of the marsh, but much too far a reach for the lenses we use. After a couple hours shooting it was getting hot and we were working our way back to the car. Suddenly this eagle came soaring overhead, I shot several frames before it was flying away and too far out. C&C welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

#1



#2



#3



#4



#5

[Shadowman]

Very nice, there's more wing than bird.

[terrib]

C&C?? My goodness what else could we ask for? Clean, sharp images and multiple "poses" to choose from. Great job!

[Geoff F]

C&C?? My goodness what else could we ask for? Clean, sharp images and multiple "poses" to choose from. Great job!

Well how about a bit more blue in the sky.

Excellent shots.

[FrankMi]

These are all great Joe but I think you really nailed a classic pose in the first one.

I would take some time in post processing the first one. Some of the things I would try to do would be:

1. Minimize the Chromatic Aberration around the perimeter of the eagle.

2. While pixel peeping, see if there is any noise that needs to be minimized then...

3. ... while still pixel peeping, see if there is any capture sharpening that would be of benefit particularly to the feather detail.

4. Try to brighten the underside of the right wing to bring out more detail.

5. Check the White Balance on the eagle.

6. See if there is any cloud detail that can be recovered but increasing the contrast and if not…

7. …add some blue color tone to just the sky.

Too dang picky, aren’t I! LOL!

[Kdfrank]

Joe, great captures on the fly (pun intended!) I agree with others that #1 is a classic. #4 is a very nice "profile" view of an awesome bird, nice work Joe.

Frank, you are quite the post processing ponitificator and prognosticator offering pointed and precise pixel peeping ideas to the photograhpic public!

[FrankMi]

Frank, you are quite the post processing ponitificator and prognosticator offering pointed and precise pixel peeping ideas to the photograhpic public!

Yep! ...and my 'free' advice is worth every penny you have to pay for it! LOL!

[VR8]

Just wonderful. I really like 1 and 3.

[jprzybyla]

Very nice, there's more wing than bird.

Thanks John, your comment is very much appreciated.

[jprzybyla]

C&C?? My goodness what else could we ask for? Clean, sharp images and multiple "poses" to choose from. Great job!

Thanks Terri, your viewing and comment is much appreciated. Not quite like the elks you are photographing but since there are not elks in Florida I will take eagles.

[jprzybyla]

Well how about a bit more blue in the sky.

Excellent shots.

Thank you Geoff, no can do on the blue sky without faking it. The sky was overcast with a high fog.

[jprzybyla]

These are all great Joe but I think you really nailed a classic pose in the first one.

I would take some time in post processing the first one. Some of the things I would try to do would be:

1. Minimize the Chromatic Aberration around the perimeter of the eagle.

2. While pixel peeping, see if there is any noise that needs to be minimized then...

3. ... while still pixel peeping, see if there is any capture sharpening that would be of benefit particularly to the feather detail.

4. Try to brighten the underside of the right wing to bring out more detail.

5. Check the White Balance on the eagle.

6. See if there is any cloud detail that can be recovered but increasing the contrast and if not…

7. …add some blue color tone to just the sky.

Too dang picky, aren’t I! LOL!

Thanks Frank, I will work on your suggestions but I am more inclined to take a better photograph when conditions are better than to sit behind a computer trying to improve a mediocre image. I prefer to do minimal post processing. Your skills amaze me. Now if I were doing photography as a business I would hire you...smiles. I just enjoy being outside and roaming natural areas photographing what is available. In answer to...too dang picky... I would say no, not for a perfect image.

[RockNGoalStar]

Love them! Well done on these great captures!

Were these shot with your Nikkor 55-300mm AF-S VRII? If so, it shows what can be achieved with knowledge, skill and a rather inexpensive telephoto lens!

Superb stuff! Love #3 especially!

[jprzybyla]

Joe, great captures on the fly (pun intended!) I agree with others that #1 is a classic. #4 is a very nice "profile" view of an awesome bird, nice work Joe.

Frank, you are quite the post processing ponitificator and prognosticator offering pointed and precise pixel peeping ideas to the photograhpic public!

Thanks Kerry, your viewing and comment is very much appreciated.

[jprzybyla]

Just wonderful. I really like 1 and 3.

Thanks Victor, much appreciated.

[jprzybyla]

Love them! Well done on these great captures!

Were these shot with your Nikkor 55-300mm AF-S VRII? If so, it shows what can be achieved with knowledge, skill and a rather inexpensive telephoto lens!

Superb stuff! Love #3 especially!

Thank you Tommy, your viewing and comment is valued. Yes they were shot with the Nikor 55-300mm AF-S VR II that I bought refurbished for $259. I know some people sneer at it as being a kit lens but the optics are very good. The construction is very good, it just lacks some of the bells and whistles of higher priced lenses. Focus is a little slow but I have learned to pre-focus for the distance I most likely will shoot. Then it quickly locks on and will track a bird in flight using continuous autofocus.

[Bobobird]

Excellent captures Joe, excellent.

Frank as usual has presented some really great ideas but like you I prefer to keep things simple and will just wait for conditions/opportunity for a better shot. Since you have seen dozens, chances of that happening are pretty good.

One thing I would try to fix though is the slight greenish cast on the underside.

[FrankMi]

I prefer to do minimal post processing.

I understand completely. In my case it is hard to get out to shoot and almost impossible to get fantastic images like you have here. For me it is much easier to play in Photoshop.

As that would be a once in a lifetime shot for me, I'd want to get it as good in post processing as I possibly could because I might never get another chance!

[Cantab]

Great photos!

[jprzybyla]

I understand completely. In my case it is hard to get out to shoot and almost impossible to get fantastic images like you have here. For me it is much easier to play in Photoshop.

As that would be a once in a lifetime shot for me, I'd want to get it as good in post processing as I possibly could because I might never get another chance!

Thanks Frank, I am still learning how to get the best quality from the camera and lenses I can afford. So I shoot a lot of images in all conditions. Florida is wonderful in having a lot of natural areas that birds call home. When I lived in New Hampshire I could never get as close to birds as I can here. The reserve where I photographed the eagle has two pairs of adults and several juveniles, there will be other oppurtunities with a better sky and light. Monday when I shot these it was overcast and foggy, so the sky was grey overcast. I continue to marvel what you can do in Photoshop, taking your suggestions to heart. I appreciate you offering suggestions to make my images better.