This capture is one of several in this taking off sequence I got with my new Z9 which locked in on its eyes for the whole time. This was going to be a hard earned lunch. I saw it hit the water for the coot about 25 yards from the shore of our nearby lake and it WENT IN and had to swim out with it. It then flew across the lake to a more secluded place on the shore to eat it when a pair of ravens showed up and the last thing I saw was the eagle doing some all out flying to stay ahead of the ravens. I’m guessing that it was finally able to land and have lunch.
Specific Feedback Requested
Cropping? Semi-busy background okay?
Technical Details
Z9, Nikon 200-500 lens, hand held, 1/3200th, f 8.0, 750mm, ISO 1800, Topaz Photo AI, cropped to 3029 x 2330
What an amazing event to have been able to witness, Dave. I’m also very impressed with how the Z9 is able to track. Hopefully at some point I’ll be able to up grade my Z6. I am not the best person to comment on the cropping and background, but think the detail you have gotten in the eagle is outstanding. Nicely done.
@Dave_Douglass - This is a really nice frame. I really like the angle of flight of the eagle, the intense look, the prey, and in general the exposure. The crop looks good, but we have no idea what you started with.
I looked at a couple of things. The background is close to the bird which causes it to be sharper than would be desirable. Shooting at f/8 is part of the issue as well. The birds right wing is a bit brighter than I cared for so I made a couple of quick adjustments to see what addressing those topics might look like. Here’s the result:
This guy looks mean … nice in-flight shot with the expression and the prey as a big bonus! Keith has a point with the BG being too close to make the bird stand out perfectly, but the color scheme of the BG still makes it stand out well enough to make for an image I would be very happy with … Cheers, Hans
Hi Dave
It must be fun to these Eagle to photograph. This is a really nice action shot, with great detail and eye contact. As for the Keith rework, making the lead wing darker and add more color detail, is a nice improvement. I like the original background.
Peter
… Cheers, Hans