Lunch to go!

Gallery: AvianPosted February 20, 20141,579 views4 comments

I was at Desoto Bend NWR on the Nebraska-Iowa border last Saturday to photograph eagles as they have started moving north to follow the migrating waterfowl. The eagle count was 31 last week there. Had moderate snow in the morning but gave way to sunny skies by afternoon. The visitors center there is really nice with excellent views of the former Missouri river channel. Good viewing opportunities inside a warm building during winter. The negative aspect of the place for photographers is there is no outside viewing decks overlooking this bird rich area of the refuge. The eagles are fun to watch but photographs suffer significantly when shooting through the dirty glass. I hesitated to post this because of subpar techs but I like the composition. There was lots of mid-air play and taking turns trying to fly away with the fish they were eating for lunch. Thanks for looking.

D300s
Nikkor 300mm f4, 1.4 TC (420mm)
ISO 400
1/1000 @ f/6.3
HH
LR & NIK with some selective sharpening in PS CC

Comments appreciated.

Comments

4 comments

Comment posted by Robert Bunch on February 22, 2014 at 4:31 AM

Nice capture. I like the beach setting with the tree stumps/eroded wood posts/ whatever. To me it looks a little too cyan though.

Registered on May 18, 2004, 124 Posts, 2503 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on February 22, 2014 at 6:33 AM

Hi John - This is a really cool shot! I'm not just being polite when I say I would be excited to have captured this...I simply have never had the chance to frame up a scene like this, and I think you did an excellent job with the opportunity you had! I'm not even sure there are obvious points of improvement! For my taste, I like the image as posted (although totally agree with the colour balance issue)...I like every element that is in the frame and how you have positioned them, and you seem to have nailed the focus and techs. I do wish for a more clear view of the chasing eagle's head, but all in all I still think this is a sweet capture and nice comp that tells a full story.

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by John Neukirch on February 22, 2014 at 9:36 PM

Robert, I struggled with the white balance on this days images and reworked them several times. The one posted most resembles the actual light that day. Very cool light with the February sun at this latitude, the ice and blue sky and the small amount of open water. Thanks for your input I appreciate it.

John thanks for your kind comments, I am still disappointed when having to shoot through glass but sometimes you take what you get. Watching the eagles on this fine day was magical in and of itself.

And congratulations to Jenaya, what an honor, as a parent you must be very proud.

Registered on July 9, 2012, 207 Posts, 1476 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on February 23, 2014 at 7:15 PM

Very well framed, John. The color balance works for me. My only nit with the image is that for some odd reason the juvenile on the ice seems disproportionately large-I suspect the angle is a bit deceiving. A wonderful scene.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments