Eagles and Seagulls

Aloicious · Feb 18, 2013

Was out birding again today, got some pretty decent Bald eagles, and a couple of yelling seagulls. These are several of the ones out of those I've been able to sort through so far.

1- Juvenile and Adult

2- Pfft...showoff...

3- Juvenile takeoff

4 - Another Juvenile

5- Adult

6 - Adult spotting a fish

7 - A couple of yelling Seagulls, with an eagle

all these were 300+1.7x TC @ f8 1/1000 ~100-300ISO. it was a pretty good trip.

NancyMoranG · Feb 18, 2013

Those are absolutely fabulous! They jump off the page with clarity. You are giving a few people here a run for their $$ with those shots.
For us dreamers, give us some specs on what you used and how....
excellent, thanks...
Nancy

Aloicious · Feb 18, 2013

Thanks Nancy, I used a D800 with a 300mm f2.8 and a 1.7X Teleconverter (for approx 520mm focal length), I stopped down to f8, and shot at 1/1000s, I used manual mode but with auto ISO, the ISO ended up around 100-300 for most of these shots. I was at a waterfoul management area where alot of eagles winter at, I think they estimated 50 of them were there this year, this spot I was at had probably 5-6 adult eagles and 1-2 juveniles, there was even a northern harrier, and like 25 seagulls and a few other species, but I'm still combing through all my images.

MSnowy · Feb 18, 2013

Nice set. #2 is the best of the set for me.The expression on face of the one on the ground is great

coastalconn · Feb 18, 2013

Fantastic shots! Blows my eagles away. They are all great. I really like the 2 shots of the Juvi's (#3 and 4).

ceeboy14 · Feb 18, 2013

Very-very-very nice!

bc_steve · Feb 18, 2013

Nice pictures!!

I have been thinking of getting a teleconverter and you make a pretty convincing case to invest in one! I love how sharp those pics are

Radical · Feb 18, 2013

Wow! Great shots

matthewo · Feb 18, 2013

very nice photos. looks as if you found a good spot.

i found a spot but the only way to get close enough to where i saw a dozen juvi eagles was by kayak or boat

baturn · Feb 18, 2013

Very nice! All of them! But am most impressed with #6 as I have always wanted a head on BIF of an eagle. Well done!

Aloicious · Feb 19, 2013

bc_steve said:
Nice pictures!!

I have been thinking of getting a teleconverter and you make a pretty convincing case to invest in one! I love how sharp those pics are

Thanks everyone...

Steve, yeah the TC's are helpful, but beware that they don't work too well on alot of lenses. for example, my 1.7x TC is good on my 300 2.8, but not so much on my 70-200 2.8....I only have the 1.7x converter, and I'm really only satisfied with the results with using it on the 300, I hear the 1.4x is a bit better on a wider range of lenses since you only lose 1 stop of light rather than 1.5 stops and there are less elements to reduce IQ in it, but I don't have one, so I can't really comment. I want to try a tc20e III, its supposed to be the best 2x teleconverter out there, but I don't have the extra cash to drop on it, and I'd lose even more light than with my 1.7x...perhaps one day

it was pretty crowded there with other photographers (being president's day and all), but it was fun to meet and talk with some other people interested in wildlife photography in person. I met a real nice guy with a 600 f4 on a wimberly head who let me check it out and get a feel for the wimberly since I've been thinking about getting one, I talked to him for a good while about improving my shots and stuff and he gave me some good pointers. it was kindof funny, he had a D700 with the 600f4 on a wimberly head and carbon fiber gitzo tripod, while his friend that was with him was trying to take pictures with his iphone through a spotting scope. heh

Aloicious · Feb 19, 2013

Here's a few more I just finished up from the trip...

8 - here's another head on shot for baturn:

9 -DIVE! DIVE!

10 - Eagle 5, you are cleared for landing, lowering landing gear:

11 - these 2 are 100% crops, but they turned out fairly well.

12 - So the eagles would soar in and land in the snow, but then they'd walk around in the snow, it was very comical to watch, mainly because they're SO graceful and majestic in flight or perched, but they're almost clumsy when walking, they kindof waddle around, it reminds me of how Charlie Chaplin would walk with his oversized shoes and cane.