1st Bald Eagle

Gallery: AvianPosted May 2, 201081 views6 comments

Had an incredible morning, spotting an eagle for the first time in Northeast PA this far up. Took many photos of it posed in the tree for habitat shots. And got fairly close to get some flight images. First, I apologize as I know this isn't up to detail standards on here, but I'm excited about seeing a bald eagle around, finally. D-60, ISO-200, 1/2,000th at f-5.6 maxed out at 200mm. This made my month, so please any C&C welcomed!!

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on May 2, 2010 at 10:23 PM

It is great to see them isn't it! Nice shot

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on May 2, 2010 at 11:53 PM

Always wonderful to see this iconic species. Nice cloud formations and sky color; I would probably have added some exposure compensation to get some detail in the eagle at the expense of the sky, but that may not have been your objective. Congrats on your first sighting!!!

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Maile on May 3, 2010 at 7:54 AM

Thanks all, it was awesome to see! I'll be posting some others that have a bit better exposure than this, just like the classic pose here. Wish it was a cloudier day actually. And while I don't PS, may have someone see about the adjusting exposure too.

BTW, do you think a higher ISO would have helped here?? I had it set, and never thought to go ahead and change during the excitement.

Registered on March 2, 2009, 984 Posts, 2518 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Conway on May 3, 2010 at 8:51 AM

Hi Bill,

I think the recovery of the Bald Eagle is one of the great stories of my lifetime. When I was a kid there were none in this area, now I see them on a regular basis. They are magnificent and worthy of all your excitement!

I don't know how the D-60 works. If you are manually setting the exposure then yes a higher ISO setting would have helped. If its an auto exposure then you need to dial in exposure compensation so that you get more exposure than what the camera thinks is correct when you have a bright BG. Hope that makes sense.

All the best,
Peter

Registered on June 25, 2007, 347 Posts, 3913 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Maile on May 3, 2010 at 9:10 AM

I would have to agree with you there Peter, they have made great strides here as well--but never saw one in my "backyard" like yesterday.

Well, w/ the D-60 (I'm still getting used to it too), I can preset the ISO for some auto shooting. And many more options for the Program Mode. I have not mastered the "total manual" mode, mean pre-setting ISO, shutter and aptr. For water scenes, I usually use Shutter priority as the ap. adjusts accordingly.

I believe I know what you are referring to regarding "dialing in exposure compensation". +/-, etc.?? It was harsh light. And I just discovered some other options as I sat here typing this--guess it pays to take time to learn your camera and what the hell I'm doing before even attemtping to expect a "perfect" shot!!

Registered on March 2, 2009, 984 Posts, 2518 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on May 3, 2010 at 3:27 PM

Congrats on another exciting capture, Bill.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments