The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I spotted the sitting eagle and was waiting for him to face me when the second eagle decides to join him on the hilltop.
Specific Feedback
I had to open the shadows to show detail under the wings. I’m wondering if I went “to far.”
This image is cropped, there was more rock/sky showing. I like this crop as the eagles are the center of attention. Thoughts?
Technical Details
1/2500, f/7.1, 150mm, ISO 1000
OM1, M.Zuiko 40-150mm 2.8 Pro
Hi and welcome Kristal! What a stunning shot. Congrats on sticking around long enough to get it. Looks like there’s a lot of excellent detail here, but I think you’re right that the shadows are too light on the shadow side of the bird. They’re coming close to the bird in direct sunlight and that is unnatural. If you dial them back down, the noise will reduce as well, which shouldn’t be so apparent at this ISO. The crop looks good to me although a tiny bit more room on the top wouldn’t go amiss. Again, what a wonderful photo. Full of power and energy. Yesterday was a 4-eagle day for me, but no photos, just got to see our local residents.
If you do make changes and have a second edit, you can add that to your original post by clicking the pencil (edit) icon. This allows us to compare both photos in the viewer one after the other. You can also edit the title with something like + 1 Rework or similar to alert the group that you have done it.
You can also reply to multiple people in one post by highlighting any text in their reply and using the Quote function. Another way is to use the @ symbol and choose the person in the list that comes up. Use the tab key to automatically select and fill the name in your reply. Hope that made sense! It looks like this when you’ve done it - @kristal
Glad you are joining us! Welcome! This is an amazing image to show us in your first post. I agree with @Kris_Smith and have nothing more to add.
This is a great place to ask exactly the questions you asked here and get some great input from supportive, thoughtful, and talented photographers. I have learned a lot. Please keep posting and chime in to add your feedback as well.
Welcome to NPN and the Avian Forum, Kristal. This is an excellent first post and your questions about the processing are right on. I agree with Kristen that you pulled the shadows up a bit too much on the under side of the wing. You only have to pull them up enough to make detail reasonably visible. I don’t know the details of how you processed this but it used to be the mantra in Avian photography to not do noise reduction on the birds. With modern noise reduction software that’s no longer the case and I always apply it to the entire image.
I’m not sure what software you’re using, but if it has a highlights slider that you can use through a brush, the sunny side of the perched eagle’s face could come down a touch. It might be actually blown out, but often you can recover what looks blown out in the RAW file.
Finally, I do think a little more room at the top of the image would be nice.
Again, thanks for joining us. I think you’ll enjoy the forum and learn a lot-I certainly have and continue to do so.
Welcome Kristal! A really dynamic image you captured here. Terrific timing and what a setting! I agree with the suggestions above and can’t think of anything to add. Looking forward to seeing more and feel free to comment on other images in the forum.
Hi Kristal
You found a great location to photograph Eagles. There are a number of software programs that allow you to use local brushes to adjust shadow, whites… This is a great photograph and it would be interesting to open up the shot and give the viewer a better look at the Eagles environment.
Peter
Hi Kristal and Welcome to NPN. An excellent first post. I really like the how you caught the eagle just before touchdown. Excellent detail in the head and there’s just a peak of the eye in the other eagle to let us know its watching the landing. Looks like a stunning environment. Where is this? I agree another image showing more of the environment would be interesting.
Thank you everyone for your helpful critiques. I really appreciate having a few extra “eyes” on the image. Sometimes I get so buried or blinded by my work, I don’t see what is necessary to improve it.
