Golden Eagle

[DavidM61]

Hello

I am looking for constructive critiques of the two photographs, as below, in the sense of composition, impact, focus etc. Although its always nice to know if people like a photo or not (and please feel free to say) what I am really after is constructive feedback on the image so that I can learn and develop (no pun intended !!) my skills.

Both pictures taken using a Nikon D300s with a Sigma 150 - 500mm f5 - 6.3 DG OS lens. Both pictures were taken at 500mm, f6.3, 1/1000s, ISO 800 0EV. No flash or other lighting, just natural daylight. The background, which was afew feet behind the bird, was very dark, and produced a very dark background on the RAW image in camera. Some minor tweaking carried in PSE 9, mainly to levels.

Many thanks in advance for constructive comments.

[HMW12]

Wow. The lighting in the first one is , IMHO , spectacular. For the second, my one comment would be its a shame that there is not a bit more illumination on the left eye but it's still a fantastic image.

[DavidM61]

Many thanks for the kind comments Helen, very much appreciated. The light used was just natural daylight/sunlight, and the sun was to my right (the birds left) when I took the second shot, hence the light differences between the left anf right sides. However, I was lucky enough with the first shot for it to be side on to me, and well iiluminated. Nothing like a bit of luck to help a photo along

[Rebellion]

I really like the light in the first shot for the second shot i would like to have more light on the left side but the symmetry is good. Both photos are very nice Tony