A Winter's Perch +pano

Gallery: AvianPosted February 3, 2011124 views9 comments

The day after capturing the Bald Eagle in flight over a local Northeast PA field, we had some pretty heavy snow. I managed to make it out without getting stuck, only to be rewarded with seeing the same bird sitting in a distant tree. Again, taken with a Sony H2 at a great distance, I was mostly pleased with the result given the circumstances. ISO-80, 1/400th, f-4.0. Larger posted, thank you for viewing and any comments.

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on February 3, 2011 at 8:55 PM

I like the comp and the snowy scene, but wish the bird were a little crisper. It looks like your lighting was not ideal. This would look good as a pano, too. Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on February 4, 2011 at 5:57 AM

Very appealing comp and scene and overall impression.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on February 4, 2011 at 7:36 AM

Bill,

This has a nice wintery mood to it, love the falling snow and the stark lines created by the bare branches. This might be stronger if you cropped some off of the right side, to just to the right of the tallest branches touching the top of the frame. I might also try increasing the midtone exposure to get a little more details in the darks and apply a little more selective sharpening to just the eagle.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Maile on February 4, 2011 at 8:28 AM

Thank you all for the input, much appreciated. Obviously, it was posted for the mood and winter scene... given the equipment used and the distance involved, I was surprised to even get this out of it. I'm not sure how much sharper I can get on the bird though, it's been cropped down fairly well. Thanks!

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

Comment posted by John Tobias on February 4, 2011 at 9:53 AM

I agree with Sharon, crop to a pano and you should have an image with more impact. Thanks for sharing, glad you did not get stuck!

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

Comment posted by Bill Maile on February 4, 2011 at 10:07 AM

Here is a pano attempt I did up. I don't know, I like the original comp with maybe a slight crop of the right hand side to have the main branch eminating from the bottom corner. Who knows??? Thanks John and everyone.

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

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on February 4, 2011 at 10:54 AM

Bill,

I like the pano but that crops off too much of the top of the original file for my tastes, I think the starnkess of the bare branches there adds a great deal of the wintery mood. I'd add some back there myself.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Maile on February 4, 2011 at 11:48 AM

I agree 100% Mia. Here is the most I would do. I think the dark, bare branches, the snow, the eagle gazing in the distance, and the starkness of the scene are what make it. Just IMO.

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

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on February 4, 2011 at 1:11 PM

The final composition is very nice, and I love the overall winter mood here. But a shame you didn't have a camera up to the task to give adequate image quality.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments