Taking Flight

Hi Walt. I really like the warm lighting you had here, sublime! Nice and sharp where it needs to be, the eye/head, and it looks like you panned this a little adding to the feeling of forward motion. I think I would prefer to see the entire lower wing if you could have zoomed out, while also giving you you the option to give a bit more space in front of the eagle. That's a nice compact flight lens combo you have there!

I too like the warm light, though it might be nice to neutralize it just a little in the "white" head and tail feathers. The piercing stare is nice and sharp, contrasting well with the motion in the wing. Despite some bright spots, the exposure looks great because I really like seeing the details in the darker part of the bird. The rim-light on the wing is sweet too, and of course, including the whole wing might have been ideal, but you take what you can get, and you got a good one.

Thanks for the comments. I was a little concerned about the warmth of the light. I am not too sure why this one came out this way as the others did not. May be that this one was in the shade while the others were in direct sun?

Gary, I would have loved to get the whole wing in, but I am to the point where I am lucky to find the flying bird in my view finder and get a shot off. Can you actually find the zoom ring and get backed out in time to get the shot? That would impress me. Just shows how much work I have to do.

I really love the lighting on this, Walt. Nice crisp flight shot. I'm ambivalent about the wing being cut off, but I think you picked a composition that makes it work that way.

Nice sharp close-up of one of my favorite subjects. It would have been nice to get the wing in, but sometimes you have to take what you got