A bird I won’t soon forget.
1/5000, F/5.6, ISO 800, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
This is one of the flight shots I got of the adult Golden Eagle I photographed eight days ago in a remote area of northern Utah. Many of my photos of this bird are similar but this one is unique in my collection because it caught ‘her’ wings spread as wide as possible, rather than still flapping soon after takeoff.
The wingspan of many Golden Eagles doesn’t exceed 6′ 7” but individuals with a wingspan of up to 7′ 8″ have been documented. In the field, my impression of this bird was that her wingspan approached the top end of that scale. She was one very impressive physical specimen, especially in my viewfinder.
There’s a single pokey-up grass stem at the bottom of the frame that I considered banishing from the image, but in the end I chose to leave it. It helps to “ground” the bird (give the viewer a sense of her elevation relative to the ground) and besides, I don’t like to remove stuff from my images. That choice may not be ideal aesthetically but so be it.
I haven’t been in the field since this photo was taken but I hope to get out again soon, even though my prospects for bird photography have potentially been complicated by recent events. More about that in a future post (don’t worry, it isn’t dire. Just highly inconvenient. And unlucky.)
Ron
Stunning! Thank you.
Thanks, Kris.
It is lovely, sorry to hear you have been having complicated inconvenient events. I am catching up on things today from this past week. I have been so busy, work, family obligations, catching up on the Salt Lake housework. We head back down south again for a few days of repairs on the other house again before Thanksgiving then back for a big dinner prep and meal. So I understand the not being able to get out for photos, my shutterfinger is getting twitchy.
Thanks, April. I hope you get back into the field again soon.
Wow, it’s hard to imagine holding on to the camera with that gorgeous raptor in my sight … but that’s why I leave the photography to you! So I do hope things are not dire, although they do sound rather ominous.
Nope, not dire Chris. Just hugely inconvenient.
She is truly magnificent and I love that she also obviously well fed.
I loathe cliff hangers and am glad to read it isn’t dire.
EC, I didn’t mean for it to be a cliffhanger but I guess that’s what it is.
She is gorgeous, as is the light peek-a-boo skimming along the underside of her belly and tail, and spotlighting her clubbed up foot. Such power in this photograph!
Thank you, Carolyn. I had to bring out a little bit of that shaded ventral detail during processing.
Oooh! She’s a stunner! 😍 That golden nape and the “Bernoulli” wings. I envy you all the moments you had with this glorious raptor!
Hope whatever’s keeping out of the field is just a brief hiccup.
Marty, you sent me to the online dictionary with “Bernoulli”. After doing that bit of research I remembered learning about it decades ago but then I promptly forgot about it.
Thrilled by this image! Sends me chills all over making me ever thankful for what you share. Wishing you a most thankful Thanksgiving Day!
Thank you, Gary.
Ron: Nice to see your post this morning in my email. My email was full for a week, so did not get any emails from any one Wow what a nice shot. Good you found her.
Trudy, until today I hadn’t posted for about a week so you probably didn’t miss anything from me.
So concentrated on the expansion of those wings in flight that I never noticed the little stem, If I just closed off without reading I know for sure I would not have seen it. Magnificent bird that I would love to see in person some day.
“Complicated by recent events” Hope you didn’t twist that back trying to keep up with the Golden.
Everett, I probably focus on things like that stem more than I should. Can’t help myself.
I am new to your blog and I find your photography to be amazing. AND your comments and openness about your surgery to be enlightening and refreshing. I admire your attitude! Attitude is everything and attitude is subjective! Good for you. I hope all is going well. It can be a long haul.
Welcome to Feathered Photography, Gail. I hope you enjoy your time spent here.
Magnificent! 🙂 I always get reminded how HUGE they are when I see them on road kill – something often lost when seeing them at “distance”.
Hope PITA is resolved soon!
Good point about seeing them on roadkill, Judy.
The only thing as impressive as this magnificent eagle is the photograph of her.
Wishing you all the best.
Thank you, Wally.
Good to “see you” again ! I’m grateful, too, for your posse’s observations, specifically Diane’s today–pointing out this impressive bird’s bulging crop by
way of commenting that she’s “well fed”–I hope you get to see her again, and
maybe document her offspring in the coming season……besides your wonderful
photography, I love the follow-ups you can sometimes make on individual
animals……gives such a sense of their lives!
“I hope you get to see her again”
Kris, I looked (hard) for her again this morning but she was a no-show. Either that or she was in the area but I missed seeing her.
She is a stunning, frame-filling specimen with enough gold that she might have been touched by Midas . The somewhat frayed primaries bear witness to the wear and tear of ekeing out a life in the wild.
If you hadn’t explained the grass stalk I would’ve thought it was a scratch on the film.
You left us with a cliff hanger. Much worse than an ear worm.
“If you hadn’t explained the grass stalk I would’ve thought it was a scratch on the film”.
“Film”. Now that brought back memories of the ‘old days’.
I didn’t mean it to be a cliffhanger, but I see what you mean. Don’t worry, it isn’t life threatening, just potentially very inconvenient for a bird photographer. I’ll add something to my text explaining that.
Wow!
“I don’t like to remove stuff from my images. That choice may not be ideal aesthetically but so be it.”
Ron, I like your style.
“I like your style”
Good. It is what it is. Much appreciated, Michael.
Good to see you back with us. That’s a stunner shot of an impressive lady. But “prospects for bird pbotography” sounds too ominous to let me enjoy it as much I normally would. You’ve had enough to deal with recently so I can only hope the situation is better than it sounds.
Granny Pat, I don’t know yet how “ominous” it might be to my bird photography, but don’t worry – it isn’t dire.
GREAT! Capture…. “Thank you, for sharing.”
Take Care,
CJ
Thanks, CJ.
What a stunner! I didn’t even notice the stick-up until you pointed it out. Looks like she had a decent meal recently, too. So nice to see you in my inbox this morning!
Thanks, Diane. I’m pretty sure she’s been eating well for some time.
Wish I had a seven-foot wingspan!!
Me too, but I’d settle for less as long as I could fly.