This shot is part of one of the best series of Eagle shots I have ever taken. It is of the same group that produced my only ribbon and a PB for me. Shot in December of 2008 of an immature Bald Eagle who had taken a Snow Goose and was trying to keep it from other eagles. Although very successful in keeping it to himself, able to eat much of it while doing so, in this scene he had dropped the goose into the snow where it sank. In his rush to pull it out and fly off with it he only had hold of the entrails which pulled away leaving the body behind.
Convert in In Lightroom
Crop, Highlight Recovery, Black Clipping, Brightness, Contrast, Clarity, Vibrnace, Saturation, Curve Strong Contrast, Red Saturation boost, Split Tone, Save as TIFF
In PSE7
Autofix at 40%, Contrast 20, slight boost of red and yellow, increase brightness of eye, crop tighter, resize, USM at 200, .3, 3, Second USM Pass at 150, .2, 3, Add border to top and bottom of image, Save for Web
Statistics
Place: 43 out of 1129 Avg (all users): 6.6733 Avg (commenters): 7.7324 Avg (participants): 6.7014 Avg (non-participants): 6.5250 Views since voting: 1920 Views during voting: 723 Votes: 502 Comments: 75 Favorites: 5 (view)
Great capture and the best by far of the (many) bird shots in the challenge. Not usually my favourite subject but this is hard to fault. 9. Well done and good luck for the rest of the challenge.
Great shot - nice focus on head and wing. Can't figure out what is going on in the back part of the shot - whether this bird is injured, or if it is capturing something.
Voted earlier coming back to leave some comments. WoW and Wow! Absolutely LOVE the outstretched wings as it takes off - I see such beautiful detail in the feathers as it is taking flight. And it is not just the details of the wings but in the whole majestic bird: talons, beak, hunter eyes... Love how you captured an action shot that also tells us a story - The hawk has caught it's prey and has taken it's fill as it now takes flight to the skies again. A bloody display of Darwin's survival of the fittest. The snowy white backdrop really allows the bird to contrast quite nicely with it's environment. This is a beautiful shot and luck, persistence or both helped you get the shot. I gave up about a year ago to get a sharp as a tack photo of a hawk or eagle in flight, so hats off to you for this fabulous capture.
Wow, catching a shot like that must have taken a while. The composition and lines in this photo are really nice and I like seeing the details of the feathers in the bird.