Apologies for the cliche. I intended to go to Banham Zoo, where I'd never been before, to capture one of the many magnificent animals there, like tigers, leopards, cheetahs to name but three. Instead I resort to the old DPC cliche of an eagle shot (my second) simply because it's the one that came out best. I will be going back (next year I suspect) and I will get a more imaginative shot. Mark my words lol.
The same eagle (I assume) as featured in these great shots by Ecce Signum and talj:
He's a bit of a DPC star!
Editing quite simple. (not!)
Rotate through 90deg, Auto Colour in PS, save as a TIFF. Then open up in PSP, crop, resize, varying degrees of USM on different areas, some minor cloning on the beak and feathers, some HSL to take the colour out of the feathers, some colour balance on the eye to tweak the colour a bit, and a fair bit of selective softening and sharpening all around. Lastly duplicated the layer, blurred and set mode to overlay (a little trick I learned off Ecce Signum)
Statistics
Place: 17 out of 430 Avg (all users): 6.7771 Avg (commenters): 8.3333 Avg (participants): 6.6466 Avg (non-participants): 7.0800 Views since voting: 2998 Views during voting: 295 Votes: 166 Comments: 13 Favorites: 2 (view)
With all of the eagle shots in your portfolio I'd say I like this one the most. I like the catch light in the eye as well as great detail you captured. The processing you've used is simple and effective and I like the shallow DOF
The technicals are good so obviously you know how to use your equipment. However, to be honest I'll forget about this photo rather quickly because there simply isn't anything unique about it.
ETA: Well I didn't forget my comment which was probably too harsh so I apologize for that. Let me add that this is a striking image. The eagle has a very strong presence in the composition, which is stronger than most so in that regard and it's overall technicals, it stands out.
The main reason for my comment earlier is while this is a strong image that can stand out from a technical standpoint it doesn't stand out from a substance/newness standpoint which is also needed for an image to have lasting appeal. Anyway, just thought I clarify. Good luck.
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
