Bald Eagle in Flight - Almost

I intend to keep trying! I'm aiming for an eagle image like one of Dan's and also Monte's (see displayed pictures on CnC), not an easy feat!

Yes, #2 is a benchmark, a keeper for now, for me. Clear sunny skies make it very challenging to photograph Bald Eagles. Blue skies with lots of soft white clouds are ideal for softer light.

I have a few more sharp in flight shots but the dark shadows depending on where they fall on the bird spoil the image, or at least prevent it from being a wall hanger. Blue sky works well if front lit and during golden hour. By the time this Eagle decided to fly the soft light disappeared.

These shots were taken in Boundary Bay, BC. The others in Brackendale, BC... Both are four hour round trips for me but the Eagles are more abundant in number than found locally... I read the local bird forums and nature sites advising and providing further insight to on the birds in the area. I also know of a few eagle spots closer to home, lone Eagle, one in the forest along a trail and one in the city that perches upon a tall crane, but refuses to fly whenever I visit or if he flies it is in the wrong direction.

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Originally Posted by Nicks Pics

These are interesting. Keep trying for ones you like even better if you want but I'd say you achieved the goal with this! I see what you mean about the angle (and I notice a bit of blur) in the first, and the shadows in the second, but I think #2 at least is a keeper, the shadows don't bother me terribly much. Good job photographing! Sunny conditions aren't a problem for me, I think a blue sky works better than white. It contrasts the eagle well. Do you know of a particular eagle roost near you, or how do you know where to find the birds?

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I wonder if this is the detail you are after under the wings ...I cannot see noise, rarely can :) ... but maybe I have or maybe not...
Used my 'fill flash' tool on just the underside[dark] parts of the wings ... currently I use fill flash quite a lot having recently discovered it :)

http://i61.tinypic.com/6ds9qa.jpg

Hi Christina,

Both well captured but I'm going for No 2 and not concerned too much about the shadows under the wings.

I'm sure that 'wall hanger' is coming soon:)

Grahame

John...

Thank you for sharing. Truly appreciated.

Yes, that is the detail that one would see with the right light but it doesn't look natural to me (nor does lifting the shadow) Nevertheless I will look for "fill flash" and try it on the raw image to see if it makes a difference.

Grahame...
Thank you. :)

Nice ones, Christina. I agree with you than not having the tail visible in no.3 is a bummer. No.4 is a really nice position on the bird. The shadows look natural for the lighting conditions. It might be possible to bring out a bit more detail in the shadow but it looks fine as is. My only real suggesting is if you have some room in the original frame, maybe try leaving a bit more room on top so the bird's head is vertically centered in the frame. That won't leave the perfect corner to corner diagonal but I'd give it a try and see which is preferential. Nice job on these, Christina.

Fantastic shots Chris; really enjoyed watching them :)

+1 to Grahame.

Thank you Dan, Nandakumar and Binnur, with a special thank you to Dan who advised me to lighten the shadows and darken the highlights on the wings in shadow, followed by adding clarity to bring out the detail and minimize the appearance of noise. I also raised the black point. Uncropped as photographed because it places the Eagles head in the center. And a special thank you to John for also advising on more post processing needed.

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...4.jpg~original

Thank you to everyone for advising. I'm going to sit on this one for a while and revisit again to see how I feel about it (the shadows).

Great shots Christina. I do like your edit.

Irene

That's a beautiful shot, Christina. Your edit brings out more detail in the shadows and on the head feathers. You really nailed focus and techs on that one. All you need is more eagles to shoot because you are ready for action.

Great work Christina, they just keep getting better:)

Grahame

Your edit looks good Christina.

Thank you to Irene, Dan, Grahame and Binnur!

One day I will post another captured in better light, but it may be a while.

Thank you to all.

Strikes me Christina that you have got the exposure/ focus end of the equation well sorted. It's just the composition and that's where luck takes a hand. I never manage the perfect capture. I either fill the frame but in the wrong place or have to crop to the point of losing IQ. One day..............

One last final post to finish up this thread as I believe I've made progress with my Eagles in flight. The following were captured in better light. In hindsight a smaller aperture would be nice to use because they are large birds but that means a higher ISO so I'm always torn.

I likely post processed these images more than any of my typical bird images in that Eagles seem to suit stronger contrast. After posting I just noticed the differing WB/contrast but will leave as is for the purpose of this thread.

SS 1/1600 f 6.7 ISO 1250 300 mm lens with 1.7 extender

1A

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...3.jpg~original

Even though I clipped the wing tip, I prefer these because they show the beefy legs and talons.

2A

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...4.jpg~original

#3A
http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...6.jpg~original

And another simply to show you my beautiful Eagle pair. Only a keeper for the memory because the background is so busy.

http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/...5.jpg~original

John...
Thank you for your comment. Indeed they are challenging birds to photograph. Ideally I should've been perched in the tree on a higher branch so the eagle was flying towards me. And as you can see I'm still clipping wing tips but to a lessor extent here.

Note..
This thread is finished. No need to comment, just sharing the challenge of photographing these birds.

I have a better Eagle shot that I'm very happy with that I will share in a weeks time, maybe sooner, in a new thread. Here I just wanted to finish off to demonstrate some progress with the light.

Christina, I really like the 4th shot. My husband and I have been trying to "just see" an eagle for weeks now. Last week we finally saw one soaring high -- an amazing sight! So, I know what patience it takes to see one, let alone get just the right shot! Congrats! Look forward to seeing more.

Every outing is better than he one previous, Christina. Looking forward to the promised next installment.

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Note..
This thread is finished. No need to comment, just sharing the challenge of photographing these birds.

I have a better Eagle shot that I'm very happy with that I will share in a weeks time, maybe sooner, in a new thread. Here I just wanted to finish off to demonstrate some progress with the light.

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I won't comment then, I'll save my compliments so that I don't have to think of something even better to say about the next posts :) - oops, there, I commented!