Susan Cifaldi
About the Image(s)
GEAR: Nikon Z9 with 500 PF prime and 1.4 extender; f/8 at 1/1250 with ISO at 8000.
THE BIG STORY: It was a gloomy, rainy day at the marsh, but that didn't stop this eagle from jumping for joy. I'm not sure what provoked such exhilaration, but clearly the Missus was having none of it. After a few moments of bouncing around, the Mister took off for to parts unknown, and Missus, after enjoying a few minutes of quiet time, flew away as wel. (I found them both later on, sitting on some nearby mud flats.) The eagles are beginning to pair up, and some are even fixing up the nests a bit.
I'm getting used to the white skies of November here, so I did just a bit of darkening. It's just the way things are out here. I didn't have to do much to the image, other than cropping out the branch on the right side and de-noising. I did play around with some of the sliders to get more feather detail. It looks a little soft to me,but I am happy that I didn't blow our their white-feathered heads.
As always, thank you for your kind comments!
This round’s discussion is now closed!
8 comments posted
  Posted: 11/20/2024 16:41:49
  Posted: 11/20/2024 16:35:35
Wow this is a terrific image! Nice action, looks plenty sharp to me. You really nailed it.
I just did a workshop in "high key" photography, which I know isn't everyone's taste but that has me wanting to turn this in to a completely white sky. Here's my version with that done, a slight amount of saturation and clarity, and a bit of crop. I do like David's suggestion of space at the top which I didn't try.
And- aw, shucks! Thanks for the nice words. And glad you are feeling better, we missed you!   Posted: 11/28/2024 00:44:05
Im really glad I took the PS course, I learned a lot about using it to improve my photos. One think I learned is that there is an ACR filter -- which simply takes you back to the Adobe Camera Raw part of the PS suite. I will see if the clarity slider can be pushed up a little more. I did try to increase the yellow, but I was timid. . .this time, I will be more daring to see if it improves things.
PS Let me apologize for being MIA last month. There were a few surgical complications that kept me down longer than I thought they would. But, like a bad penny, I'm baaaaack! :-)   Posted: 11/20/2024 16:34:59