Bald Eagle - Jan 21

CalfeeRider · January 25, 2006

Well, that $50 hunting blind paid for itself in it's first outing! Instead of shooting these birds at 300+ feet, I think I was about 75 ft away from this one!

It was only around 830am, so the light wasn't as strong as I would've liked and at 400mm f5.6 the fastest shutter speed I could muster was 1/640 so it's not a sharp throughout, but I'm pleased!

Thanks,
Jack

gus · January 25, 2006

Wow ! Thats terrific jack. Great exposure also.

You guys have a lot of australian trees over there

Are they for pulp or timber ?

Thusie · January 25, 2006

Jack that is a shot to be proud of!!!! Fantastic

Harryb · January 25, 2006

Outstanding Capture Jack.

Osprey Whisperer · January 25, 2006

Well done. Maybe I'll get me one of them there blind blinds. :uhoh

I'm going to have to find a blind eagle to shoot ........the way I'm going. Any of our B.O.P. see me long before I see them. They are camera shy for sure.

CalfeeRider · January 25, 2006

Humungus wrote:

Wow ! Thats terrific jack. Great exposure also.

You guys have a lot of australian trees over there Are they for pulp or timber ?

Hey Gus, thanks! I'm not sure what those trees are used for - other than bird perches.

Jack

ginger_55 · January 25, 2006

I imagine that you are pleased, that is gorgeous!

Now, where did you get what 50.00 blind?????

I would be interested. Though putting it in the middle of a road might look strange, but seriously for 50.00...............did you make it?

ginger

That is one very good photo!!!

DanielB · January 25, 2006

incredible photo Jack

CalfeeRider · January 25, 2006

ginger_55 wrote:

I imagine that you are pleased, that is gorgeous!

Now, where did you get what 50.00 blind?????

I would be interested. Though putting it in the middle of a road might look strange, but seriously for 50.00...............did you make it?

ginger

That is one very good photo!!!

It's a neat little pop-up blind about 60" square footprint and 68" tall. The thing is sort of "spring loaded" like my solar visor for my car - just a bit bigger so stand back when you release it.

I got it at Sportsmanguide for $49.95! You can read more about it there or feel free to ask if you have any questions.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=145626

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but the hunter in the picture is looking out what I call the door. This opening goes from 10 o'clock to about 7 o'clock - double zippered and no screen. There are three "windows" one on each of the other three sides, that open from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock - also double zippered and no screen. In the middle of each of those windows, is about a 10-12" port which you can barely make out in the picture. These are also double-zippered and do have a camo mesh screen that's velcroed so you can easily adjust how much visibility. I had placed the camera on a tripod through one of the larger windows and with the double-zipper only the lens hood was poking out a bit. I used the smaller ports with the mesh screens to keep an eye on the branch (a known perch) and also used the ports on the other side of the blind to view my surroundings in case I could see him flying toward the branch. I hope this makes sense?

And thanks for the feedback everyone! I'm heading back up there again this Saturday... it's sort of like that Kingfisher Fever some of you have... very dangerous and contagious!

Jack

Tessa HD · January 25, 2006

I think
if it were sharp throughout, then you'd lose the feel of movement. I love the position of the wings as well as the sharpness of the beak down to those awesome talons. (I've been here to look twice, I love it!)

nightowl66 · January 25, 2006

eagle
wow Beautiful

CalfeeRider · January 25, 2006

Tessa HD wrote:

if it were sharp throughout, then you'd lose the feel of movement. I love the position of the wings as well as the sharpness of the beak down to those awesome talons. (I've been here to look twice, I love it!)

Thanks, Tessa! This one's my favorite of the series too - and for the same reasons you mentioned. If you want to see more of those, you can look at my gallery here

http://www.jackfbuchanan.com/gallery/477163/1/53335513

I'm not sure why they're out of sequence other than the EXIF says several where shot at the exact same date/time - maybe camera makers should think about adding a 1/10th of a second position to the time?

Jack