Panting Eagle (edited)

Gallery: AvianPosted January 21, 2012135 views6 comments

This is an immature Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) panting to cool off on this hot summer day. He will receive his daily shower in a moment.

Photographed at the Alberta Birds of Prey Centre in Coaldale, Alberta. The Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation is rehabilitating and releasing injured birds of prey back to the wild.

I had been photographing birds in the wild, including Eagles, most of the summer and decided to take a trip to the Centre to observe these majestic birds from up close. Well worth the trip.

No, the red smudge on the beak is not a telltale clue left by some hapless visitor's errant fingers. It is a remnant from the bird's chicken snack.

Canon 7D, Sigma 150-500 at 500 mm, ISO 1250, f/10, 1/1600 sec, cropped to ~1/9, handheld (Note: this is incorrect, see my comment below).

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 21, 2012 at 9:24 PM

Hi Roger, I like the open bill with a view of the tongue, and I love the detail in the bill. I think you did a nice job getting enough dof here, though I might apply a little more sharpening to the eye. when you say cropped to 1/9, do you mean 1/9 (11%) of original? I do think this would have a lot more impact if the bird were not angled so much away from the viewer.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Hussain Nalwala on January 22, 2012 at 9:41 AM

Love the shot Roger.... beautiful and very sharp..

Registered on April 18, 2011, 298 Posts, 339 Comments

Comment posted by Luca Mussato on January 22, 2012 at 10:06 AM

I copy Brian's comment.

Cheers, Luca

Registered on November 14, 2006, 118 Posts, 855 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Kirchen on January 22, 2012 at 3:23 PM

Thank you all for viewing and for your comments. I have embedded a shot from the same session where the bird is not angled away from the viewer. I like the view inside of the upper half of the beak in the original, but I concur with the comments about the bird looking away.

Additional sharpening was applied in the embedded photo to the eye. However and unfortunately, the embedded photo appears to me softer altogether, especially the area between the eye and the nostril. Note that I have also reworked the eye of the original. I do not have another acceptable shot of that session.

The crop of the embedded photo is 25 % of the capture (crop by 75%). I have calculated the crop of the original post (as opposed to eyeballing it): 23 % of the capture. The 11 % stated in my original post is incorrect. What would be an acceptable crop on a 7D (RAW) capture?

I forgot to mention that I use LR3 for processing.

Any and all comments are much appreciated.

Registered on March 6, 2011, 95 Posts, 847 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 23, 2012 at 10:11 PM

hey Roger,

I agree with you in terms of the sharpness of the first one being preferable.

When it come to cropping, you'll have to figure out what you're comfortable with, and it may vary from image to image. Some cropping is almost always necessary for composition, but the more you crop, the more it degrades the image quality. But where this becomes unacceptable is up to you, and can vary depending on how you are using the image. I feel, personally, that anything past 50% is a pretty heavy crop. I'd love to stay at 75-80% of original, but often find myself in the 60s. I almost never go below 50. But like I say, that is personal. As you spend more and more time looking at images (yours and others') you will begin to easily recognize the loss of detail and image quality and the increase in noise as crop percentage increases.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Kirchen on January 23, 2012 at 10:24 PM

Thanks Brian. Your detailed description with actual numbers is much appreciated.

Registered on March 6, 2011, 95 Posts, 847 Comments