Seduced by a Golden Eagle. Again.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Just over a year ago I photographed this Golden Eagle soon after it took off from a power pole in Box Elder County. I couldn’t ask any more from the flight posture, I got a perfect head turn with eye contact and I love the warm morning light on the bird. The darker underwing coverts of the left wing almost look like they’re the shadow of the right wing as the light tries to pass through but of course that’s not the case. The sun was behind me and those feathers are just darker than the rest of the wing.
I’ve never posted this photo before because… well, the original has significant faults we don’t see here.
I had to clone to get the previous version as I presented it and I had to do it twice. I removed the wire up top and added canvas to the left so the bird has a little more room to fly into and isn’t so centered in the frame. Two sins in the same shot and I’m not happy about it.
But this photo kept nagging at me. I’d never even opened it in the past because of the previously mentioned problems that were obvious in the thumbnail but last night I finally processed it, including wire and insufficient canvas, just to see what the eagle would look like. After going that far I was hooked and proceeded to do the dirty deed of double cloning.
I should have known better than to even open it. Golden Eagles are sirens for me, in the Greek mythology sense.
I have mixed feelings about seeing what could have been but the cloned version motivates me to keep trying, even when they’re on power poles. In the past I’ve sometimes passed them up on perches like that so maybe this seduction was a good thing in the long run.
Ron
Ended up with a SPECTACULAR shot!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
Wonderful capture!
Thank you, Jane.
Damn it, Ron!!! Cut it out!!!!! By cloning in sky (that was really there, just not captures by your camera’s phony electronic limitations) and eliminating the the damned wire, you gave us a MAGNIFICENT IMAGE OF ONE NATURE’s most magnificent , soul-stirring birds!!! I can’t speak fior others, but THANK YOU, THANK YOU. THANK YOU! I NEEDED THAT!!! My soul is sore…
I’m glad it apparently soothed some of the soreness, Patty. And that you like it so much.
Don’t be so hard on yourself! It is a gorgeous image! And, you even explained it. Wonderful photo – be proud! It is so incredibly hard to even begin to get close enough to a Golden Eagle to get a photo at all.
“And, you even explained it”
Thanks for pointing that out, Gail. I’d never post a cloned photo without disclosing what I’ve done. IMO full disclosure takes some of the “sinning” out of it… 🙂
It’s still beautiful! I love Goldens!
Gail
Ron, what a beautiful photo of a beautiful bird. The colors are spectacular.
I like many other of your readers would love to see a Golden Eagle, but don’t think that is ‘in the cards’.
Thanks so much, Ron
You never know where one might turn up, Alice. One has recently been photographed by a friend of a friend in Massachusetts, a state I don’t associate with the species.
And a few years ago in Pawling, NY…Wish I’d gotten to see it, but didn’t…it almost fell from the sky onto a birder friend’s head! It had a concussion, probably from a run-in with some bald eagles over feeding territory..was rehabbed and released…during rehab was secluded so very few were lucky enough to be allowed to see it…it was kept guarded, quiet and solitary, with minimal contact with people until it healed…I wanted to see it so badly, but knew they were doing the right thing for it…sometimes doing the right thing really hurts!!!
Awe and wonder. What a magnificent bird. Of course you were seduced.
Thanks, EC. I’m easy when it comes to Goldens…
It has a real painterly feel to it that I really like.
Sometimes ya just gotta do tricks to satisfy your wants. Call it art and be happy.
One of the many “if only” images that, I’m sure, resides in your files. Fun to view, unlikely to be shared, but integral to the process.
Yup, I’ve got a few of those “if only” shots, Neal. Quite a few of them in fact.
I can’t resist posting the link to one of my favorite shots of a Cedar Waxwing that Neil posted on Facebook recently in case any of my readers might like to see it. If you’re on FB, please have a look. I think it’s just excellent.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=643704022693746&set=a.147208379009982&type=3&theater
Thanks for the shout out, Ron.
If you’re gonna be seduced, let it be by a Golden. Absolutely thrilling shot of a magnificent creature. Wow!
Please tell me this one’s up on a wall somewhere.
Nope, not up on a wall, Marty. I never even processed it until last night. I’m glad you like it so much.
I’m happy to volunteer some wall space! 🙂
Hi again Ron – nice shot on the GOEA. The dark feathers on the wing(s) are the “underwing coverts” and yes, they are typically darker than the primary and secondary flight feathers (the big ones). The “gestalt” of the bird makes me think it is a male, and regardless of gender is in full adult plumage – translation, the bird is at least 5 years old. They show a similar but opposite pattern as Bald Eagles in terms of plumage variation with age. Balds are a solid, very dark sepia their first year, and over a period of approximately 5 years obtain the signature white head and tail color. Goldens are also a very dark sepia their first year, but with considerable white in the tail and wing feathers (what I call a “war bonnet tail”). The white in the wings and tail goes to the color you see in your shot over approximately a 5-year period. When I was still among the ranks of the employed with DWR, we had a monitoring program for Goldens and banded numerous young each year. Some of those kids have shown up now in various locales as breeding adults; so you might see a leg band on one occasionally. Again, nice shot and thanks for sharing. Maybe we will hook up at BRMBR (or somewhere) one of these days. Best, Jim.
Jim, thank you for providing fascinating information about my favorite bird species.
Hi Jim, Thanks. Actually, “underwing coverts” is what I called them in my text. I appreciate your input, especially on the age of the bird. All I knew for sure was that it wasn’t a juvenile. I’m always watching for bands on Goldens, knowing that HawkWatch international has been banding and monitoring them for some time. It would be fun to be able to read a band that turned out to be on one of your banded eagles. Thanks again for all the great info.
Oh! My god!!! I love this image sooooooo much…it would be a crime NOT to clone out that damned wire…..It spoils an otherwise perfect image that I would love to have….
Patty, when I first saw that wire I called it far worse than just “damned”…
I think the pictures are perfect either way. Nice to see them. They are a beautiful raptor. I am always looking for them when I get out and about. Thanks for the posting. Happy Hunting with the camera.
Thank you, Trudy.
Beautiful photo Ron. Flying in the right direction to get the light. Would have been a great photo even without cloning, but of course that makes it perfect. Would love to see one someday. Have a good weekend.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott AZ
I hope you get to see one some day, Everett. And in good light – with them that makes all the difference.
Cloning may be a sin, but one worth committing with this photo. IMO. Supposedly we have Golden Eagles here, but I have yet to see one. This shot makes me want to see one even more.
Believe me, Susan, it’s far from my first sin. Actually I delight in some things folks call sinning, especially here in Utah. Thank you.
“Actually I delight in some things folks call sinning, especially here in Utah.”
And that’s why we love you! 😉
Amen!!
WOW! Just WOW! 🙂 Magnificent bird! Don’t think I’ve ever seen one with that gorgeous a coloring – of course they are often far away and light isn’t the greatest so they look much darker…… Even if it is “cheating” in your mind, the cloning takes the photo to a new level and I LOVE it! 🙂
Thanks, Judy. Yes, when we’re lucky enough to see one they’re usually far away and often appear almost black. In one of my photo haunts I can nearly always count on seeing two of them on the same very tall power poles but they’re almost a half mile from the road on private land and they just look like little black specks.
The gold really sings in that picture. I can see why they are so named.
Exactly, Arwen. Sometimes the light has to be optimal to see it but it’s there, especially in that golden nape.
Golden eagles, well, are golden eagles: few and far between and therefore not easy to find and photograph successfully. When there is an opportunity, I suspect because I have never had a “good” opportunity, you have to do the best you can and in most (all) cases, perfect is not quite achievable. So you have to take what you can get. Luckily, there are tools available to improve the situation and if there were not, you may not have shared this image with us. IMO, I’m happy you did, because I think it is a spectacular image.
That’s part of the reason I posted it, Frank – so readers could see (once again) what spectacular birds they are. Thanks very much.
G-Morning Ron, Am I seeing a leg band on this Golden Eagle’s right leg and is the “crossed legs” common in flight as spread apart? Don
Nope, there’s no band, Donald. I looked at other photos of the bird too and all I’m seeing is what looks like a poop stain across the base of the toes. I don’t believe the legs are crossed either (if that’s what you mean).