BIF in rare Alaska sun

[NorthernFocus]

Here are a couple more from the files. Shot in Haines in 2013. Had a couple of beautiful sunny but extremely cold mornings down there. But it was worth it. The goal in Haines is to get shots of eagles in conflict with one another as they fight over the salmon. That's why these passing flight shots against a plain blue sky didn't get processed initially when I returned from the trip. But the techs were pretty good, the birds are front lit(for a change) in nice morning light, and they are in somewhat classic positions. I rented a Nikon 600mm for that trip. It was wonderful to shoot with but what an anvil to lug around!

These shots are not the same bird and were taken about 45 minutes apart. WB was tweaked but not fully "corrected" in order to retain partial effect of the golden morning sun.

As always check them out in the lighbox. Uploaded at 1200px and the detail shows well.

Nikon D4, 600mm VR, tripod/whimberly
f/5.6 @ 600 mm, 1/2000, ISO 400

1)


2)

[FootLoose]

I love the 2nd shot, Dan. That beak looks so cruel! But that is not to imply that the first shot disappoints in any way. And I am glad you decided to retain the early morning glow too.

What other treasures do you have lying in neglect on your hard drive?

[Shadowman]

Nice captures.

[IzzieK]

+1 to Greg's comment about the light on both birds. I also have a preference for #2 here.

[Downrigger]

Can't pick a favorite, both are simply terrific. It's never really about the equipment, but the nikkor 600 seems to have held up its end of the bargain. I assume this is hand held? - would be interested in shutter speed/exposure.

[FrankMi]

Lovely detail Dan, particularly in the whites on the second one!

[Barbara Ponder]

Makes me glad I am not it's prey! Great shots.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Glad you enjoyed the shots. Apparently after extracting a few shots of birds fighting and one or two others that stood out, I never went back and culled/processed the rest of that shoot. I found a few more gems in there.

... I assume this is hand held? - would be interested in shutter speed/exposure.

Mark, the EXIF is there above the first image. They were both shot at the same settings. It's also listed along with the camera/lens info. that I was using a tripod w/whimberly head.

Lovely detail Dan, particularly in the whites on the second one!

Thanks, Frank. Definately everything came together on these two. Good light, birds coming from the right direction, good gear, etc.

Speaking of the whites, I'm surprised no one has mentioned how far from pure white they look. Even considering the golden lighting. These two are still just barely within the category of what I call "dirty birds". Eagles don't attain their white heads and tails until their fourth or fifth years in life. And then it doesn't change overnight as in after molting or something. They linger for quite a while with a few dark feathers or bits of dark spots on the feathers of head/tail. So they no longer obviously look like juveniles but more like adults with dirty heads/tails, therefore, "dirty birds". At full resolution you can see just a bit of dark still remaining on the heads of both birds. At this resolution is barely shows but if you look closely both birds have dark patches making the heads look dirty. In the second shot below you can clearly see the tips of some of the primaries on the tail that are still brown. That's not just dirt. Those are brown tips on the feathers. So the coloration on the whites is fairly "accurate".

I have some more obvious examples of dirty birds from the same shoot that I'll try to remember and post when I have access to my machine.

[Otavio]

Great images, Dan. Impressive detail level on both shots. Cheers,

[chauncey]

Dan, I'm thinking that it's not the same bird.
In the interest of artistic endeavor, I mighta brightened the whites anyway.

[Brownbear]

Hi Dan,

Thank you for sharing so many gorgeous eagle photos. I saw these at 4am this morning (as I was putting my boots back on) and they served as a wonderful inspiration for me, and I think I managed a few in flight shots that I will be willing to share later this week. If I don't share them well I'll be putting my boots back on again. It was very foggy this morning, so I'm always struggling with low light... I was at ISO 1600 and a SS of 800, and to push the exposure more to the right I'd have to up the ISO more which I didn't do for fear of too much noise.

They are both beautiful but the 2nd is my favourite for the extraordinarily sharp head (and details in the white feathers) and the detail in the wings, and the wing position (for the beauty)

[NorthernFocus]

Glad you guys liked them.

Bill, they were different birds. I did lighten the heads a bit as shown. I tried lighter too but what is posted is what I settled on as taking a bit of artistic liscense while still representing the scene as accurately as I could. Though in reality without photos most people watching them fly by would likely not notice the slightly "dirty" whites.

Christina, you just have to put in the time. You'll get various weather conditions and it's all good. If you had been there the morning these were taken with your gear you would have likely produced images superior to these. That 7100/300mm combo can't be beat with lighting like this. And you've demonstrated your ability to get on target.

[terrib]

Dan, I always enjoy your shots. These are no exception. I too am glad you left some of the golden glow.

Isn't it funny how relative our choices are in deciding what to process? I'm glad you went back to these.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Dan, excellent shots with good quality. Always great to see your work.