I was amazed when this photo turned out as well as it did in such low light.
1/1600, f/6.3, ISO 2500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I photographed this Golden Eagle five months ago on a heavily overcast morning as it flew between me and the side of a mountain in Box Elder County, Utah. The light was so low I had to dial-up my ISO far more than I like to in order to get sufficient shutter speed and I was pleasantly surprised to get a catch light in the eye.
The eagle was quite close to the background rocks and vegetation so I had a difficult time locking sharp focus on it in flight. Many of my shots were marginally soft but this one was sharp and I like the flight posture and the open beak.
I don’t think I’ve seen a better demonstration of the flexibility of multiple flight feathers than we see here. I love the dramatic and matching curl of the primaries on both wings and the incredible length of them. Keeping a 10 lb. bird airborne puts a lot of pressure on flight feathers and here we see how it changes their shape but an instant later they spring back and do it all over again.
Feathers are marvelous products of evolution.
Ron
Wonderful photo Ron. As you say, the details of the eagle in flight are really instructive. I’m also intrigued by the mosaic of the background. Is that darker area a patch of lava?
It looks a little like lava but I’m unaware of any volcanic activity in the area, Patrick.
Another great photo and accompanying background details…nice. Golden Eagles are always welcome on my monitor.
Yup, Golden’s are special in my book. Thanks, Zaph.
I enjoy all your photography, explanations and stories! Thank you!
That’s nice to know, Adele. Thank you.
Wow! Spectacular Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
WOW! I’m speechless….incredible shot….
Thanks very much, Steve.
Amazing. Thank you!
Thanks, Alice.
It is so very lovely to be back here for my foreign feather fix again. Echoing Marty about your itchy trigger finger again. And Laura. In my next life…
Welcome back, EC. You’ve been missed around here.
Your readers have said it all. What a beautiful bird and a great shot by you.
Thank you, Ron
Thank you, Alice.
Yowza! That is a beautiful photograph! You caught that bird perfectly…the feathers…the golden nape…the beak…the intensity of it’s focus…the whole shebang! My favorite bird. Thank You, Ron. *sigh*
I’m glad you like it that much, Sybby. Thanks.
Very nice pose. The primaries all look in good shape too. The eagles I have been photographing lately have very tattered primaries, must be about time to molt.
April, this shot was taken in October so the plumage was in good shape. Thank you.
Awesome! I love how you got the individual feathers’ movement.
I really like those feathers too, Beth. Thanks.
Ron,
Great shot as always. What else can I say. I must truly be doing something wrong because my 2500 ISO shots would never come out this clear.
Birds: I just love them. I will await your reply to Art’s question.
Stephen
Thank you, Stephen.
Very, very nice Ron. I see some of the effect of the high iso but it is a beautiful documentary picture of a wonderful animal nonetheless.
BTW how do you adjust ISO so quickly that you can capture a bird in flight after adjustment. It takes me a few seconds of fumbling around and thus I can’t imagine doing it “in flight”.
Art, I always check my SS beforehand when the light gets dim. If I don’t have enough SS for the conditions I up my ISO until I do.
OH MY!!! OH WOW, OH WOW, OH WOW! Oh those beautiful golden nape feathers and all the other feathers that work together to form such a splendid design!! And I’m with Marty! What an outrageously beautiful image in every way! I’m SO delighted that your delete finger wasn’t itchy! 😉
I don’t know about y’all, but I really feel cheated that I didn’t get feathers in this lifetime (assuming the whole reincarnation thing is a real thing). What a simply marvelous adaptation.
Thanks, Laura. I was pleasantly surprised that the golden nape showed up as well as it did. In light like this it often doesn’t.
Beautiful photograph Ron, it really conveys the power and beauty of these eagles!
Thank you, Ed.
Thank goodness it didn’t fall victim to your itchy trigger finger. 😉
Whoops! This was supposed to be a reply to your reply to me. :/
Understood. Don’t worry about it. 🙂 I can fix it when I do that but can’t when it’s someone else…
Jaw dropping gorgeous, Ron! 🙂 Grinning ear to ear right now.:) The golden’s are SUCH magnificent creatures. Amazing what those feathers can take as far as flexing goes……..
Agreed, Judy – one would almost expect them to break when they’re bent this much. Thank you.
I think this may be my favorite of your Golden photos — and that says a lot! Magnificent! The green right behind the bird certainly makes that golden nape pop. This shot is “wall worthy” for sure. 🙂
Thanks, Marty. To be perfectly honest this one had slipped by me until last night. My other shots of this bird were slightly soft so I had just assumed this one was too so I had never even looked at it closely. Lesson learned (I hope…)