Where I live in Iowa, photographers have had an awesome year photographing eagles not too far from me. In past years, we have had to travel to the Mississippi River to see eagles in such numbers. Usually near this dam just outside Iowa City, a typical winter will have half a dozen or so eagles. This year, there has to be close to 100 eagles in close proximity and the cold weather has allowed for numerous days to photograph them hunting for food. Everyone in the area has been enjoying this phenomenon. This is one of my recent favorites. I like seeing the talons. I didn't care about the top wing being clipped, but I thought I would see what others thought. ISO 1250, 600mm, f8, and 1/1600 sec.
This round’s discussion is now closed! 3 comments posted
Audrey Waitkus
I immediately thought the wing should be clipped even further down. I liked that you didn't break the rule of "not clipping right at a joint" but I thought clipping it further down, just below the joint and the longer feathers might look more "intentional" -- it didn't look right at all. So, at least for me, though it might have been even better with the entire wing, I like it the way it is. I think you did a marvelous job with the sharpness of the entire bird: beak, eye, talons, and feathers. And I really like the angle of the bird in the air. We just had a presentation from a bird photographer at our camera club meeting last night. He showed a lot of eagle photos from Lock and Dam 14 in LeClaire, Iowa, and your photo is right up there with the best of them. You're so lucky to be near that area. Our eastern Wisconsin bird photographers "flock" to the site frequently, but I've not been there yet.   Posted: 03/08/2019 10:48:06
Ruth Holt
Wow! I just read that a unique photo consists of composition, contrast, color, balance, and depth of field.
You hit it all! The wing clipping adds to the uniqueness of the image...   Posted: 03/13/2019 16:16:01
Eric Schweitzer
My initial impression is "Where is he/she going". This lends a tension to the image that holds the viewer to explore the image. I think the composition could be stronger if the eagle was placed in the right third of the image. Colors are good, but the lighting of the background could be reduced to allow the eagle to pop a bit more. The clipped wing works for this image, but I would not recommend submitting it into a competition, the judge will expect to see the whole wing.   Posted: 03/24/2019 20:08:39