My first D300 entry! Love the lower noise and faster more accurate focus system in this body. Still getting used to it so I now know that on a bright day like this I can shoot birds in flight at a smaller aperture. F8 would have produced a better shot with more DOF.
Only non-rainy day this week I had time to shoot. Went out to get a Northern Harrier in flight as they normally fly low and I know a few fields they hunt in but no luck getting close. Found this guy on a phone pole and was able to catch a burst when he took off. Most had wires or the pole with the bird so I could not use them, hope this one works.
Converted in Capture NX
Camera Adjustments: Picture Control Vivid, Adjust -1, Auto Sharpen, Contrast -1, Brightness 0, Saturation 0, Hue 0
RAW Adjustments: No changes from recorded
Color Booster: Protect Skin Tones, Auto adj
Photo Effects: Brightness 2, Enhance Dark Tones, +3 Yellow-Blue
Noise Reduction: Intensity 20%, Sharpness 5
Cleaned in Noise Ninja with touchup of eagle to retain detail
PSE6
8x10 Crop, clone out fuzz on beak & claw, levels layer set at 0 1.00 250 and erase effect on white, contrast layer set at 20 and erase effect on white, saturation layer set at +10 for blue and yellow and erase effect on white, resize, USM run twice at 200 .3 3 and then 120, .2 3, add border, save for web.
Statistics
Place: 5 out of 159 Avg (all users): 6.8861 Avg (commenters): 7.9444 Avg (participants): 6.9178 Avg (non-participants): 6.8682 Views since voting: 3899 Views during voting: 441 Votes: 202 Comments: 28 Favorites: 6 (view)
Thanks to all for the comments and votes. Happy to have another new front page shot but second in a row I lost a PB. Maybe next one!
For those who asked the OOF wing was caused by the apperature setting giving so little DOF. These guys have 5-6 foot wing spans and I did not get them al in focus.
The yellow really leaps out at you from the clear blue background. I like the soft smoothness of the tail and right wing, it's almost like a watercolour painting.
Wow; he's really popping out of this shot! He looks a little blurry in places, like some sort of noise reduction was needed, but that fierce eye is beautifully sharp.
I'm really jealous! I'd love to see a bald eagle let alone catch a shot of one. The feathers on his tail & his right wing look a little muddied IMO, but really nice detail in his face, feet & other wing. Great job.
Getting an eagle in flight is a goal of wildlife photographers - getting one with it's claws extended and a clear view of the eye makes it even sweeter - great job.
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
