I went out yesterday to do some landscape photography. That was the intent and so I had my 100-400mm in my hand debating whether to take it. Stupidly I wondered if I’d see any wildlife. Duh - you live in northern Wisconsin, of course you’re going to see something. Since I shoot m4/3 none of my lenses is terribly big so it’s just laziness on my part if I don’t take this one. In the end I did and I’m so very glad.
While driving to the location I saw a conspiracy of ravens on both sides of the road ahead. I LOVE ravens, but haven’t had the opportunity to photograph them since they’re pretty skittish around here. Not this beauty. As I crept forward and the ravens scattered, this bald eagle gave me the glare only it can as I stopped, twisted into the backseat and attached the long lens. Then all I had to do was zip the window down and brace my elbows on the door. As Seneca so aptly wrote - “luck is what happens when opportunity meets preparation” - if I hadn’t taken the long lens I’d have been ill prepared to take advantage of this opportunity.
So roughly 20 feet up the tree with what looks like a strip of venison judging by the leg I saw further up the road, I shot just across the two lanes from it for a few minutes while the ravens complained. Glad I took that stupid lens.
I haven’t shot these big beauties in a while and tried very hard to make sure I got the eyes sharp and didn’t blow out the head feathers. How did I do? Also, which cropping do you prefer? Oh and I did some branch cloning in some, left others alone. Which do you prefer there?
Technical Details
Handheld from Jeep window - cars can make wonderful blinds in a sense.
Lr for initial processing which was to just basically bring up the whites and contrast, do the crops and manage the white balance.
Topaz Denoise with manual setting of low noise removal (like 6-10) and high detail enhancement (50+) - really just noodled with it to see if I could lose the plastic fantastic look.
Photoshop to fiddle with removing branches near the back of the bird. Some got more removal than others.
Stunning portraits, Kris. Love the quote, so true. My preference is the second pose. I like the way his head is turned, quite regal. Wonderful detail and very nicely captured.
I hope you have cleared out some wall space for these beauties, Kris! Either one of them would frame nicely for the wall, but I have to admit, the face on one is my favorite because I have thing with seeing birds looking straight at you. Excellent job with sharpness and exposure, in my opinion.
Hi Kris, very nice job on the exposure IMO. well done! What a great encounter and you took full advantage of it. I like all the poses and images - great work!
Hi Kris! These are all real beauties. The eyes are clear and sharp with good poses in all 4. I like the 4th the best (marginally) because it looks like it’s hiding the meat strip from you and I can imagine it saying “You can’t have it!”
Thanks @Allen_Sparks, @linda_mellor, @Shirley_Freeman, @David_Schoen & @Steve_Kennedy - staying in the car certainly helped. S/he eyed me pretty seriously, but wasn’t alarmed and so I could pick and choose my poses to an extent. If I’d had a right hand drive I’d probably have had to get out and shoot over the hood, but as it was with the seat on the left it worked great. Had it been on the other side of the road I just would have gone into the opposite lane to park. Back roads have their advantages. Plus it’s the tail end of hunting season and all kinds of vehicles end up all over this time of year. No one really cares unless you’re blocking a road or driveway and only a jerk would do that.
Funnily enough I think I may have spotted this one or its mate about an hour later flying over the river I was photographing. Eagle territories are large and I wasn’t far from where it had its breakfast. Later on the drive home I spotted a juvenile high in a tree. A three eagle day!
Thanks @Diane_Miller & @Dean_Salman - they are pretty wonderful to see so close even if they are feeding on roadkill. And even though I see one nearly every day (today’s was a juvenile flying down river), I always look and say ‘oh an eagle’ even if there’s no one around to hear.
ETA - Just as I finished this post, one of the adults dashed down river after junior.
Aww, thanks @David_Bostock - I’m lucky that I live where these guys made such a strong comeback. They do have their challenges with lead and fishing line, but mostly seem to be thriving. And my eagle count is two for today.
The sharpness you have captured is wonderful. My favourite is #3 because the venison tells a great story, and the background behind the head is uniform. I am very impressed that your white balance is so good. I have two eagle nests 10 minutes away so often have 4 eagle days (all that I have to brag about) and often blow out the white head.
Thanks @Robena.Sirett - I thought it would never show if it indeed had anything to eat, but then it did right before flying off. So great to have eagle nests so close! There are two pairs on the river by my house; one whose territory includes the yard and one further down. Despite kayaking up and down it a bunch of times, I’ve never found either nest. Yelling juveniles and patient adults, but no nests. Luckily I have three nests in about a 30 minute radius that are very handy for the kayak. One is so close to shore I might be able to set up on the shoreline, but I’ll have to see in the spring.
All of these are wonderful shots of this beautiful guy. You nailed the sharpness on the head and eyes. It’s a hard pick for my favorite. I guess if I had to choose one, it would be #2. I tend to like seeing the side view of beaks. They show the power of the bird. Very nice catch and pat yourself on the back for bringing the correct lens.
Thanks @Donna_Callais - that beak is something isn’t it? I have a couple not so crisp shots where it’s open slightly and the way it fits together when closed is something to see. They are formidable and something I never knew is that vultures depend on eagles, ravens and other scavengers to open the bodies of fresh cadavers with tough hides. Vultures aren’t strong enough to do it and would otherwise have to wait until the skin naturally softened. Kinda icky, but oddly interesting, too. And yeah, I’ll never leave the 100-400 behind again!
