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Thread: Eagles!!!

  1. #1
    terrib's Avatar
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    Terri

    Eagles!!!

    As I promised in THIS THREAD, we returned this morning to see if we could get closer to the Eagle's nest without disturbing the birds or violating any protection laws. It's a long explanation that you all probably don't care about so I'll just say that we were unsuccessful in getting a closer vantage point where we could still see the nest. We did, however, get close enough to get some shots of the eagles flying. We did not stay very long because we knew we'd been spotted and although we were further than the legal limits for viewing them, we did not want to keep them nervous about our presence.

    We had planned the light for viewing the nest, but with them flying I couldn't control the direction so I just took my best shots and tried to deal with it in PP. Also, it was a mostly overcast bright white sky with the sun trying to break out occasionally so dark bird, bright sky. OK enough excuses. Overall, and being the first time I've seen eagles in the wild, I'm actually pretty pleased. But any suggestions on improving the PP or anything else is welcome and appreciated. Even with all the hiking, these are cropped quite a bit.

    #1 This had the best light giving the most natural detail with little PP. The "pose" is a little odd and the upper tail is a little bright but nothing I tried in post would bring out any detail there even though the histogram does not show any blown highlights.

    Eagles!!!

    #2 Obviously I'd been spotted. Shooting through the trees.

    Eagles!!!

    #3 I like that you can tell he/she is calling. Oops I see I need to work on the dirty background. I know how to fix that.

    Eagles!!!

    #4 This crop is pretty extreme so it looks pretty over processed but I love the angle of the bird. I may try taking this out of Lightroom to work on it some more.

    Eagles!!!

    #5 The angle of the bird put the light under him which helps this one.

    Eagles!!!

    #6

    Eagles!!!

  2. #2
    Cantab's Avatar
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    Bruce

    Re: Eagles!!!

    Terri, a good set of eagle shots. I love #2 and am glad I'm not a small duck being targeted! What shutter speed did you use (I'm looking at these on an iPad so can't see any EXIF info)?

  3. #3
    kaneohebud's Avatar
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    Bud Ralston

    Re: Eagles!!!

    Terri:
    Congratulations! You done good..........

  4. #4
    jeeperman's Avatar
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    Re: Eagles!!!

    Way to go, Terri. Persistance pays off. Not to mention the skill gained from each outing. Nicely done.

  5. #5

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    Andre Burger

    Re: Eagles!!!

    Hi Terri,

    How can I critique your shots if I can't do it myself?
    I love the compositions. All might not be as crisp and clear as I would have liked it to be, but as I said, I can't do it, so I have no idea if it is possible to get it all crisp and clear.

    #2 is my favourite. #1 is crisp and clear, understand what I mean?

    Great job!

  6. #6

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    Victor Nimitz

    Re: Eagles!!!

    Awesome!

  7. #7
    terrib's Avatar
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    Re: Eagles!!!

    Thank you everyone for taking time to comment. It feels good to get comments when sharing an exciting event.

    Bruce, I was using Shutter Priority at 1600 with Auto ISO and either +1 or +2 exp comp.

    Andre, I agree about the crisp and clear. The main difference between #1 and all the others is the direction of the light. (except for #4 which is cropped much more). The other difference is in exposure. I adjusted these, either wholly or locally on the bird, anywhere from -0.15 to +1.3. I was using spot focus and apparently not hitting the bird for metering further evidenced by the fact that I had to increase compensation from 1 to 2. I know that Joe, who consistently does great work, uses matrix metering but I've tried that and it doesn't seem to make a difference as I still have to compensate. This makes sense especially when the bird is a small part of the bright sky. But I may keep experimenting with that setting. On these, I think the shutter speed was sufficient since the bird was gliding but I'm also hand holding what for me is very heavy gear so who knows? That's another difference between #1 and the others. It's easier to hand hold pointing out than up and keep it steady. So many factors...

  8. #8
    Brownbear's Avatar
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    Re: Eagles!!!

    beautiful shots Terri! #1 and #2 being are the all stars for me.

  9. #9
    rawill's Avatar
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    Re: Eagles!!!

    Quote Originally Posted by kaneohebud View Post
    Terri:
    Congratulations! You done good..........
    Exactly - love 5

  10. #10
    FlyingSquirrel's Avatar
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    Re: Eagles!!!

    Exciting shots! #1 and #6 for me are the best. Your photos have been improving quite a bit. Keep sharing! I'm learning wildlife as well...

  11. #11
    terrib's Avatar
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    Terri

    Re: Eagles!!!

    Thanks to the rest of you too. I love that there are such variations in favorites.

  12. #12

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    james

    Re: Eagles!!!

    Great job Terri! Hard to pick a fav. I like em all, but I ll say 5 anyway. I am sure you had a great time capturing these.

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