High wind at beach blowing lots of sand. This eagle landed in some water apparently to escape the sand. It even turned its head to avoid it.
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
I like this a lot, Jim. Great pose. My only suggestion is that if it were possible to get lower and get it against that great sky instead of the water dominating the frame, it might have been even more powerful.
Great light and pose. The far BG is impressive. There may be a few dust spots or a mildly distracting dark area in the light blue band just below the far BG. I think your horizon is very slightly tipped clockwise.
Dennis and David: To better explain the scene and what is what, I have attached another photo of the area. There was a drain that had formed a large pool at the top of the beach. The eagle landed in it. The view is toward the ocean with a portion of the beach with sand blowing appearing to be sky. The specks etc along edge are where the sand has eroded and some stuff blown in by the wind. The original photo is slightly cropped top and bottom but very little. No sky was present in the original. Thanks for your comments.
Jim, this is a neat post and a delightful view, with the ruffled feathers fitting well with the rippled water and distant sand. In a veering into silliness, I think it would be fun to stick in a tiny human figure or boat off to the side in the water, turning this into a Gulliver’s travels view.
Thanks for the explanation, Jim. A cool shot regardless.
A very unique pose with this Bald Eagle, Jim. The ruffled feathers on its head as well as the high frequency ripples really show the strength of the wind. It easy to see why it has its head tucked in!
Jim,
What a fantastic - and unique image. What are the odds this scenario would have happened. Kudos for being there and nailing this image. Very, very cool.
Lon
