Showering Eagle (+ repost)

Gallery: AvianPosted January 26, 2012204 views7 comments

This is the same immature Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) that I have posted a few days ago. He is cooling off under a shower provided by one of the bird handlers.

This is a captive bird 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.

This is the entire capture, no crop. Processing was done in LR3 with additional local sharpening around the eye, a procedure recommended in several critiques for my previous images. Thank you.

One thing that I have noticed is that this photo exported from LR3 is more saturated when opened in Internet Explorer or in an image viewer than it is in LR3. It is also warmer, this is especially noticeable in the yellows. Same monitor (uncalibrated). I assume this is a color space issue. The image was captured in RAW (+ JPEG). The color space in LR3 is ProPhotoRGB (as per Adobe recommendation). I used to run it in sRGB until recently and I will need to investigate this.

Canon 7D, Sigma 150-500 at 500 mm, 1250 ISO, 1/400 sec at f/16, no flash.

C and C welcome. Thank you.

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on January 26, 2012 at 7:41 AM

Really like seeing this incredible detail including apparent water spots on the iris and the partially closed membrane. Pretty tight for my tastes.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 26, 2012 at 7:50 AM

cool shot, Roger. I really like the detail here, especially in the bill. I wouldn't mind a little more space around the bird, but it could be tough to add with the water in the bg. having the entire profile all in the same plane really helped here in terms of keeping the whole bird sharp, as even at f/16, at that close range and focal length, dof is still very narrow. a unique shot, Roger, I like that bg too.

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

Comment posted by Kirk Greene on January 26, 2012 at 1:04 PM

Wonderful detail. Different than the norm here in the avian gallery and very cool. Thanks for sharing!

Registered on May 12, 2004, 191 Posts, 1578 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on January 26, 2012 at 4:55 PM

Wow, super detail. The wet look really adds interest for me. I too think backing off a bit to give the head a bit more room would have made the image even stronger.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on January 26, 2012 at 8:33 PM

Pretty cool portrait with a nice story as well. I wish for more room up top.

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Schiebelbein on January 26, 2012 at 10:59 PM

Awesome derail and neat effect with the water. I like the drop at the end of his beak. As mentioned maybe just a bit tight. I have not been to the Centre yet but plan on going this summer.

Registered on November 8, 2008, 55 Posts, 393 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Kirchen on January 29, 2012 at 5:09 PM

Thanks all for your comments. It is indeed quite tight. I should have backed off with the lens, but got carried away by the action. Anyways, I have added a strip of canvas at the top and removed the same width at the bottom. It's not perfect with all these flying water drops, but it was a good PS practice session for me. I've also cloned in a water drop falling off the beak. It's taken from another shot, so it is "genuine" and within context. The nictitating membrane was almost entirely closed in that shot. And the bird was OOF too.

The Centre is a great place to observe birds of prey from up close. Mark, I think you will enjoy your visit.

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