Steppe Eagle

Patricia, that is some bird of prey. Given that the BG is reminicent of a lawn I might have went for less DOF to get the BG blurred a bit more. Reducing your aperture also would have allowed you to increase your SS, which would have helped stop the action better. The bird is pretty soft due to motion blur. You really have to pan with the bird perfectly to get it sharp at 1/500s. It is possible, but 1/500s is not a fast SS when it comes to flight shots. I would strive for at least 1/1250s for flight shots. Depending on the bird and its wing beat rate, you will need even higher shutter speeds to stop the wings. Given your techs, the light during this shot was not optimal for flights shots it appears. A nice clear morning or evening is the best if you can get it. I hope these comments help.

This is an excellent bird to photograph - large and imposing. The contrast is great as the eagle seems to pop from the BG, but definitely need to crank up the shutter speed to keep it sharp (a lesson I keep learning the hard way myself).

Patricia, my comments are pretty much the same. Higher SS would certainly have helped. I am curious as to your technique when taking this. Did you use a tripod? If so, were you using a head that is easy to pan with i.e. Wimberly? Or were you handholding? All these things certainly make a difference. My guess is what got you here on the sharpness was mostly SS. BTW, I also use center point focus only when doing flight shots (or most things for that matter).

Thanks for the helpful comments. I did not expect him to come so close and anticipated that he would be over-head. I was handholding and the camera was set on Program and ISO was set to 500 which is the limit if I want to avoid excessive noise. I will set the shutter speed at 1250 the next time.

Thanks again.

Technical points have been covered, the wing position and the intense look of the eagle are excellent.

Ray

Great pose and nice comp. technical points well-covered already. I'm sure enjoying your avian images!
Sandy

Patricia, I agree with Ron B's advice regarding flight shots and his suggestions regarding the image. I'm envious - this must have been a very impressive bird to observe and photograph.