Solitude

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
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_WD_8982-2034.jpg1500×1000 590 KB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

This image was taken along lock and dam 15 on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River in February of 2022. When the temperatures drop and the river freezes, bald eagles will congregate near the low side of dams where the water still hasn’t frozen. There can be 50 or more eagles at one dam depending on the temperature and other factors.

The first time I processed this image I elected to zoom in close to the bird to show more details of the fish and the eagle. A recent shoulder surgery caused me to go back and revisit this image. I decided that treating it more like an animal landscape looked interesting. I really like the tree trunks in the background and it makes me think of being all alone. Actually, he was working hard to be all alone as there is tremendous competition to steal once a bird catches a fish.

Specific Feedback

I would love to hear any thoughts on the composition and on processing.

Technical Details

This image was cropped around 40% and sharpened and denoised in Topaz Photo AI. I slightly increased the contrast of the bird and sharpened around the bird’s eye in Photoshop.

Canon R5 with tripod
Canon 600 mm F/4L IS II with 1.4X extender
ISO 1250, 840mm, F8.0, 1/2000sec

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Beautiful and dramatic! I love the BG too, and the eagle is tack sharp!! Excellent composition!

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Eagle looks good with its prey. Comp is ideal and the snow adds a lot to the image. Well done…Jim

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This is lovely. I like the amount of separation you have between the eagle and the background while retaining some of the environment. This is an image I would like to have in my collection. :blush:

I haven’t been to 15 (maybe it’s time?), but I tend to hang around L&D 18 in the winter. It’s quite an experience when there are hundreds of them around. Some of them can really scuffle over a catch. Well seen and captured for sure.

1 Like