Filling the frame with a Bald Eagle

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Filling the frame with a Bald Eagle

March 1, 2016 by Mike Powell

I didn’t see where this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) came from early yesterday morning at Huntley Meadows Park, but suddenly it was overhead at a relatively low altitude. I zoomed back a bit on my telephoto lens, but the eagle still more than filled the frame. At that close range, tracking was difficult and I had trouble keeping the eagle in the viewfinder (I think adrenaline might have been a factor too).

Incredibly, the first shot is an uncropped image. It was shot handheld at 483mm on my crop sensor Canon 50D camera with my trusty Tamron 150-600mm lens. The lighting was not that great, so I was shooting at ISO 1600, which resulted in a somewhat grainy image.

The second shot is one in which I got a bit ahead of the eagle in tracking it and chopped off its body. I liked the eagle’s expression so I cropped off the wide expanse of white sky to the right, turning the image from landscape mode to portrait mode, but otherwise left the framing untouched.

If someone had told me before yesterday that I could fill the frame of an image with a bald eagle in flight, I almost certainly would have laughed at them. Reality continues to amaze me.

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Bald Eagle, birds in flight, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Huntley Meadows Park | 12 Comments

12 Responses

on March 1, 2016 at 6:16 am | Reply Victor Rakmil

Wow!
on March 1, 2016 at 8:38 am | Reply v4vikey

Awesome………
on March 1, 2016 at 10:53 am | Reply mvschulze

Like the way his feet (claws) are neatly tucked up in the first image. M 🙂
- on March 2, 2016 at 5:17 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  It’s definitely amazing how aerodynamic the eagle can make itself when flying. I’ve taken some shots in the past that show the feet with the talons extended and they look huge.
on March 1, 2016 at 12:09 pm | Reply Lyle Krahn

What great fun it is to be surprised by reality. Who needs fiction?
- on March 2, 2016 at 5:16 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I’ll take this kind of reality any day of the week–I just have to be sure I am ready to react when the unexpected happens.
on March 1, 2016 at 4:01 pm | Reply svtakeiteasy

I like that we get these lucky surprises once in a while!
- on March 2, 2016 at 5:13 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I hope they continue for both of us. 🙂
on March 1, 2016 at 5:27 pm | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

I wonder why some birds like to fly so close to you. I had a turkey come up low behind me once like that and I was so startled I almost dropped my camera. Glad you didn’t!
- on March 2, 2016 at 5:12 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  I don’t know if they don’t see us or are reacting to our presence, but it sure is startling to have one come up close.
on March 2, 2016 at 3:50 am | Reply paws2smile

Wow! Great job! 🙂
- on March 2, 2016 at 5:09 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks.