eagle portraits with new canon 100-400 L lens

livinginoz

i just picked this lens up friday night, i bought it used, but it's in mint condition. wow, what a piece of equipment.

i was shooting today at a place in minnesota called the audubon society of the north woods. they have permanent homes for some raptors which have been been determined to be unable to live in the wild after an injury.

they are used in many of the programs they have. it's a beautiful setting in the woods on grindstone lake. the eagle is woody, and he has been there for many years. they have full time care for them, and a bird trainer on staff. these were shot through the fence, wide open.....
















Model:Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 300mm
Exposure Time:
(1/1000)

Osprey Whisperer

Congrats on the new lens.....and nice series of shots, Laurie. Like that 2nd to last the best. Any more room in front of the beak...or is that full frame?

livinginoz

Bird Man Photographer wrote:

Congrats on the new lens.....and nice series of shots, Laurie. Like that 2nd to last the best. Any more room in front of the beak...or is that full frame?

yes, there is more room.....does it need more space?

Osprey Whisperer

livinginoz wrote:

yes, there is more room.....does it need more space?

It feels a bit crowded...and a tad bit more room in front of the bird..wouldn't hurt IMO. Then again..that's just my opinion. If you like it the way it is...heck..it's your shot. It just feels squeezed in the shot. If it was full frame..you'd have no choice..but give it a try and see what you think. (not much more space..just enough to eliminate that "scrunched to the edge feeling" ) First shot feels the same way.

riddim_maker

Congrats on your purchase Laurie. Very sharp wide open. I'm tempted :cry
And not to mention the eagle head shots...excellent!
If I had to pick a favorite, a hard choice, but the last one comes close.
Thanks for sharing.

MotoKat

absolutely beautiful shots!

livinginoz

Bird Man Photographer wrote:

It feels a bit crowded...and a tad bit more room in front of the bird..wouldn't hurt IMO. Then again..that's just my opinion. If you like it the way it is...heck..it's your shot. It just feels squeezed in the shot. If it was full frame..you'd have no choice..but give it a try and see what you think. (not much more space..just enough to eliminate that "scrunched to the edge feeling" ) First shot feels the same way.

let's try these





after comparing, i agree with you totally. thanks for the input.

Rohirrim

Very nice captures Laurie. Nicely exposed and nice and sharp. I have that lens as well and was very happy with it. It has a bit of a bad rep for not being sharp, but as you've proven it can be very sharp.

I agree with Mike that the crop is a bit tight.

livinginoz

Rohirrim wrote:

Very nice captures Laurie. Nicely exposed and nice and sharp. I have that lens as well and was very happy with it. It has a bit of a bad rep for not being sharp, but as you've proven it can be very sharp.

I agree with Mike that the crop is a bit tight.

i was surprised at the sharpness, mostly because i have a terrible time with focus. these were done with manual focus.

thanks everyone for the input

Osprey Whisperer

livinginoz wrote:

let's try these





after comparing, i agree with you totally. thanks for the input.

Definitely better IMO. The first one for sure. The 2nd shot works better than the original post..but probably doesn't need that much space (although better than too little). I'd probably find a happy medium. You've got the shots and they are nice.

kdog

Very, very nice!!! clap

Harryb

Beautiful captures. You handled a difficult exposure perfectly.

saurora

Awesome series, Laurie!!!! Your exposures are right on! The whites are to die for...and the lens...I want one! :cry

Thusie

Wonderful, wonderful Laurie!!! Looks like you and that new lens get on quite well together, big Congrats!

livinginoz

thanks, everyone. i am not quite sure how i lucked out on the whites, though i think it helps that i am now a lot more aware of what to look for then when i first started up shooting again.

also, having the time to think about the shot helps.......i did a little dodging on the eye area in the last one, but i consider that an improvement, since usually the white is SO white that there's nothing to salvage.

bfjr

You got a new lens and you got some Eagles

Double good and Congrats on both, well done

dallas

Very, very nice Laurie, I love the close up and detail. With that new lens now you can track down that Eagle in your area, and come up with some more spectacular shots.

jwear

very nice congrats on the new glass and the eagles

livinginoz

dallas wrote:

Very, very nice Laurie, I love the close up and detail. With that new lens now you can track down that Eagle in your area, and come up with some more spectacular shots.

yup, that's right up there on my list of priorities......saw a couple of hawks swing through the pasture today, but it's really grey and cold out....i am opting for vegging inside today.

windoze

livinginoz wrote:

i just picked this lens up friday night, i bought it used, but it's in mint condition. wow, what a piece of equipment.

i was shooting today at a place in minnesota called the audubon society of the north woods. they have permanent homes for some raptors which have been been determined to be unable to live in the wild after an injury.

they are used in many of the programs they have. it's a beautiful setting in the woods on grindstone lake. the eagle is woody, and he has been there for many years. they have full time care for them, and a bird trainer on staff. these were shot through the fence, wide open.....
















Model:Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 300mm
Exposure Time:
(1/1000)

wow! lately all the 100-400 L images are very sharp!!! makes me wanna kick myself for selling mine!
well done!!

troy

Phil U.

livinginoz wrote:

Nice series - love this one especially.