White- tailed Sea Eagle Part 2

[Steve Kaluski]

• Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
• EF200-400mm f/4L IS USM
• ƒ/6.3
• 400mm
• 1/2500s
• ISO 4000
• Steve Kaluski
• Flash not fired
• Mon, 18 September 2017 8:52 AM
• www.untamedimages.co.uk
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 12.1 (Macintosh)

This is more in keeping weather wise when shooting on a Norwegian fjord, grey, gloomy, cold and choppy, again shot from a moving skiff, bird entice by bait. This is pre Animal eye, ProCapture and all the other aids camera manufactures have now added into the mix, ensuring everyone can get a sharp, in focus image. Certainly bobbing around on the skiff, HH the 200-400 was a workout in itself, the weight equivalent to those of you who have a 600MK2, so perhaps the plastic, less rugged lightweight lens have their place??? :S3:

Would have liked a tad more water spray on the RHS, but...

Thanks to those who commented or viewed the last posting.

Steve

Subject: White tailed Sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)
Location: Norway
Camera: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
Lens: EF200-400mm f/4L IS USM HH
Exposure: 1/2500s at f/6.3 ISO4000 EV +0.67
Original format: Landscape, FF
Processed via: LRCC 12.1 & PS 24.1.0

 

[Daniel Cadieux]

That wing position makes it look like it is celebrating its catch lol. I'd be tempted to lighten the eye a tad, or enhance whatever reflection is in it, to give it a bit more life, but the image as a whole works very for me. Sounds like you had challenging conditions, but they were handled well.

All the best for 2023!

 

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Steve .... yes time has changed in terms of AF performace and you did really well on that front , even more with the conditions shooting this from a small boat .
Great dynamic pose !!
Looks good under the given lighting conditions , more splash would have been better .... but i would take it as presented :bg3:
Nothing to complain in general in terms of tone , color , detail and sharpness , but can see a version with more detail extracted from the darker plumage :w3.

Cool capture and TFS Andreas

 

[Brian Sump]

Steve, never knew that lens was such a behemoth.

This is a great action shot. Maybe not an award-winning wing position but it works well for me.

As expected, lots of detail from the plumage and nice tones. Fantastic view of the head, eye and beak. Nice to see a bit of the fish at least.

Because of the tall wing position you could almost opt for 5x7 but nice as is too. I may have been tempted to give a lum boost to everything but the top 1/4 or 1/8 tones. It just feels a bit drab, though I totally get the feel of the weather that day as presented. Just a suggestion.

TFS.

 

[Dorian Anderson]

Great view of the face, and the splash is a really nice bonus. Wings aren't ideal as others have said, but the flat light really helped you get an even exposure across the bird. So

All that said, no one needs eye focus if you know exactly where the bird is gonna be. But holding a big lens on a boat is no joke for those that haven't tried it. Now we gotta get
you on a pelagic trip with ten foot swells!

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

Super focus and the colours do reflect the occasion...... this could also be Mull! I rather like the wing position, I feel trying to force a little more detail in the darker feathers may prove to be negative endeavour, I would be more than happy as is.

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Sounds like you had challenging conditions, but they were handled well. All the best for 2023!

Cheers Dan, an experience for sure, 18ft skiff bobbing... and belated best wishes to you, I trust it wasn't Baby sitting duties on NYE? :bg3:

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Nothing to complain in general in terms of tone , color , detail and sharpness , but can see a version with more detail extracted from the darker plumage

Andreas, I should have bumped up to 6400 for more SS, as there is a tad of motion blur in the body plumage so not much more to extract.

 

[Steve Kaluski]

It just feels a bit drab, though I totally get the feel of the weather that day as presented. Just a suggestion.

Always good to hear suggestions Brian, however it was really drab and it started to rain shortly after this so IMHO it depicts the capture fairly well. We were all dressed in ALL in One survival suits to keep dry, irrespective of the possibility of falling in, water was around 3 degrees.

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Now we gotta get you on a pelagic trip with ten foot swells!

I've done that Dorian on the trips back to Longyearbyen, Svalbard, also when you get off the zodiac and climb the 20ft ladder to get back on board, not for the faint hearted. :bg3:

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Super focus and the colours do reflect the occasion...... this could also be Mull!

Yep... cheers Jon.

 

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Steve, dynamic image, the wings raised, talons grasping the fish and the splash all contribute. I really like the image, thank you for sharing.

 

[Brian Sump]

Always good to hear suggestions Brian, however it was really drab and it started to rain shortly after this so IMHO it depicts the capture fairly well. We were all dressed in ALL in One survival suits to keep dry, irrespective of the possibility of falling in, water was around 3 degrees.

Yikes. You did very well accordingly!