Golden Eagle Taking Off

A rushed post this morning, for a reason that should become obvious.

A week ago today was a special day because I had two different encounters with two different Golden Eagles and I spent some quality time with both birds. The morning light was gorgeous, they were both in natural habitat instead of hunting from utility poles and one of them actually allowed me to get fairly close – at least for a normally very spooky Golden Eagle.

But two things went wrong when the closest eagle took off.

• I didn’t know it at the time but all of my early morning shots were slightly soft because of heat waves interfering with sharp focus.

1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 500, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in

• and the eagle, that was side lit to start with, took off almost directly away from the rising sun so much of its body was shaded, including its face.

I got 4-5 dynamic takeoff and flight shots that had the potential to be very good but they all had both problems.

I still count myself lucky. I probably only photograph 3-4 Golden Eagles per year on average so to photograph and spend time with two of them at different times (they were almost 20 miles apart) on the same morning was a rare treat. And despite its issues, I still like this photo.

Today is the day of my cataract surgery. I have to be there at 6:30 AM so today’s post will be published earlier than usual. And I suspect I’ll be ‘grounded’ for a few days or longer post-surgery so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get out in the field again. Or post again.

But at some point in the not too distant future, I will. By then I hope to be able to see out of my right eye again and evaluate the sharpness of my photos more accurately than I can now. And I know that for the past few years I’ve been driving right past a lot of birds that I just haven’t been able to see, which drives me absolutely nuts.

There are no guarantees but I’m looking forward to the possibilities.

Ron