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Bald Eagle
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Bald Eagle

by Dennis Plank

Gallery: AvianPosted July 5, 201569 views5 comments

A day late for the 4th of July, but that's the way it goes.  Nothing too special about this image, though I liked the wing position and this is one of the better looking eagles from my shoot this past week.  The problem with photographing them this time of year is that they're molting and look pretty ragged.

7Dii, 500mm f4 ISL + 1.4TC, Jobu Gimbal on RRS legs, f/7.1, 1/2500, iso 500, manual exposure.  Processed in LR5 & CS6.  Processed the brighter and darker areas of the bird separately. The darks aren't technically blocked according to the histogram, but they are pretty close.  Full frame. Taken at Big Beef Creek near Seabeck, WA at 8:32 am on July 1st.

I really appreciate your comments and critiques.

Thanks,

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on July 5, 2015 at 8:31 PM

Dennis, a good eagle shot with great wing position. I hope you don't mind, but I felt you could pull a little more detail out of the bottom of the left wing without doing damage to the IQ. This was done with a TK luminosity (shadow) dark mask.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 5, 2015 at 10:09 PM

Thanks, Phil.  That looks good.  I have the TK luminosity masks (got them long ago) but haven't played with them as much as I should.

crying

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Hansen on July 6, 2015 at 2:03 AM

Nice shot Dennis.  I too like the wing position and overall posture of this eagle.  Based on Phil's version, it looks like the dynamic range can be improved.

Registered on May 5, 2011, 161 Posts, 908 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on July 6, 2015 at 4:04 PM

I like the wing position and birds placement in the frame Dennis, nice details.

Looks like Phil gave you a run for the money, he's pulled out some good detail those darks..crying

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on July 7, 2015 at 5:02 AM

A fine flight shot, Dennis. I like your composition more than Phil's.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments