About the only thing these images have in common is the species of the subject.
Both shots are from my almost ancient archives but they’re new to my blog. The first one might look familiar to some readers because I’ve posted a couple of other photos of the same eagle in the past.
1/1600, f/8, ISO 500, Canon 40D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
January 30, 2009 at Farmington Bay WMA.
Conditions and circumstances were just about ideal when I took this shot of a juvenile Bald Eagle standing in shallow water. The soft and warm morning light was coming from a perfect angle, the water was clear with some appealing reflections in the upper background and the bird posed nicely for me including a slight but important head turn with eye contact. I was close, the eagle is sharp and I have very good detail.
The series I took of this bird includes some of my favorite photos of a juvenile Bald Eagle.
1/1250, f/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 40D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
February 25, 2008 at Farmington Bay WMA.
Conditions couldn’t have been much different for this shot of an adult about to land on the ice. Because of overcast conditions light was poor and what light there was came from behind so the eagle was backlit. But the ice and snow below the bird reflected enough light upward to provide detail on the ventral surfaces of the eagle and the large bird in flight is sharp even at this shutter speed.
Yes, I’d prefer to have had better light but I’d rather have shots like this one than none at all. Overcast days at Farmington were when I first learned that it can be a mistake to just stay home on mornings when weather and light don’t cooperate. Even when conditions are far less than ideal we can get interesting shots and poor light and inclement weather can often contribute to the mood of our photos.
As you can probably guess from the subject of this post our weather is changing here in northern Utah. Our forecast high for today is a record 39° for the date which beats the old record by 6°. They’re predicting a record low of 25° tonight so yesterday I brought in what will be my last garden tomatoes of the season. I also winterized my camping trailer and today I’ll turn off and drain my sprinkler system.
I guess I’m trying to get myself into the mood for winter. It won’t be easy, in part because I’m really gonna miss those BLT’s.
Ron
The first photo looks like she is trying to keep her skirt out of the water.
Beautiful eagle photos.
Canned asparagus, please don’t offer me any of at truck.
Just got our electrical power back on after 48 hours shutdown PG&E, with no wind!
No canned asparagus either! Tank goodness.
I’ve heard a LOT of people are very angry at PG&E, Dave. From my faraway perspective it sounds like they’re angry for good reason. Welcome back to the grid…
Sounds like Utah might deploy the same “fire” tactic. Not a fan of the plan.
Excellent photos Ron. Love the hovering eagle over the ice – that is special. Was out very early this morning checking up on our eagles and never had a chance to respond.
Hope your eagles are thriving. Thanks, Everett.
Love both shots. Of course.
Home grown tomatoes are bliss. As is fresh asparagus. IF our weather settles I will put in some tomato plants soon. And will happily eat them from the vine when they ripen.
Thanks, EC. I love fresh asparagus too, EC – cooked or raw.
Eagle #2 – that is a difficult shot to get, given the lighting. Congratulations. I have a couple of shots with the same lighting problem, and I shot at f5.6, ISO 2000, with 300 mm telephoto. You can tell I was trying to get the bird distinct and the background indistinct. I didn’t achieve sharpness, though. O well. You might like pickled green tomatoes if the pickler knows how to brine.
Martha, Back then at the beginning of my bird photography career I nearly always shot at f/8 because someone told me that was the “sweet spot” for my lens. It was a stretch for me to even go to f/7.1. Stupid…
Love the eagle pics, I’m a sucker for bald eagles of any age (we don’t have goldens here, sadly). I agree with the consensus on canned asparagus – my grandmother used to serve it and I could never get it down. On the other hand, I do make fried green tomatoes as a special treat a couple times a year. The tart tomatoes topped with creamy burrata cheese – yummmmm!
Thanks, Robyn. I’m surprised they even try to market canned asparagus. I’ve never known of anyone who liked it.
Absolutely gorgeous Bald Eagles!!! As a Bald Eagle link from the DC Eagle Cam site brought me to your blog, I’m especially fond of (and grateful for) your Bald Eagle shots. 🙂 Hope you’re able to get some more winners like these soon.
Guess it’s time for you to make some fried green tomatoes and green tomato pickles!
Thank you, Marty. Even though I know folks who love them I’ve never even tried fried green tomatoes and pickles made from them don’t tempt me in the least.
I have no idea what I was doing on those days 10 and 11 years ago. It hadn’t occurred to me that you do, and every day at least since then, for part of the day, anyway. That’s a lot of Bald Eagle shots and other wonderful photography under your belt (and donuts).
You make an interesting point, Lyle. Yes, my photo archives are almost like a daily diary or journal and my older blog posts fill in some of the blanks. And what I didn’t actually document in my photos can often be remembered when they jog my memory.
I haven’t been eating donuts for all those years though. For most of them my “breakfast” of choice was breakfast bars. And I never eat donuts on days I don’t go shooting (trying to make myself feel a little better about my food choices…)
No need to apologize for either of these beautiful images. Here in south Florida it is getting near time to set out tomatoes. They cn’t make it through the heat of late spring and summer. The “worms” will be ready for them, though.
Winter garden tomatoes – so jealous!
+4 this morning……….BRRRRR! WAY too early for that! 🙁 Photos are gorgeous… 🙂 Love the juvenile with it’s beautiful deep brown coloring, the perfect lighting and ripples on the pond. Of course, the adult is also awesome despite less than perfect lighting. The light that reflected off the ice did a great job of helping the light. Canned asparagus is right up there with canned peas for me – slimy mess… UGH! Growing up however that was winter fare and we ate it! 🙂 “Darlin Deer” trying to come in the yard to show next years crop how to tear the place up….GRRRRR
Thanks, Judy. I just checked – it’s +2° in Cut Bank. If the wind’s blowing (almost a given) the wind chill must be horrific.
There were very few things I refused to eat as a kid but canned asparagus was one of them.
Canned asparagus! That’s disgusting! Way too early in the morning to be thinking about “canned asparagus”.
Frank, it’s ALWAYS too early to be thinking about that slimy, disgusting stuff!
That is why I eat peas all winter long! VBG!!
I hope they’re frozen peas and not canned…
Great shots. I think gray day shots are much maligned in bird photography – probably because they are harder to pull off! But when they are successful, like that 2nd photo, the image can convey a whole lot of info and beauty. Every day in a bird’s life is not sunny and crisp, so why should every bird photograph be.
You make some excellent points, Joanne – particularly in your last sentence.
Love both photos. The second photo was deceiving to me at first…one could really think you were much higher and those were stratus clouds behind him and not snow. Love the way the reflected light accents his feather layers and the way the tails feathers are fanned out. Interesting how his feet look as if they are two colors…yes the second photo offers much. On another note…we have not had a frost yet…we do have cooler weather forecast coming up but not below 40 yet. I always enjoy a nice ‘Indian Summer’ for a week or so before winter but perhaps we won’t have one this year. With all the rain this year, tomatoes were not the best tasting…tough skins, too many cracks and watery…BUT still better than store bought.
Kathy, If I remember correctly the upper background in that second shot is open water. The eagle is about to land on snow-covered ice. I think the right foot of that bird is a little muddy, they often are at Farmington when there’s open water.
Anything’s better than store bought, including cardboard…
Man, both images are great, but that immature Eagle is phenomenal, what a beautiful picture.
Yup, Fall is waning, Winter is letting everyone know its on our doorstep. We still have some green here, but with two hard frosts most all the flowers have gone by except for a few New England Asters. Cabbage Whites and Orange Sulphurs are the only butterflies seen on a single day in October so far. With the various changes in the weather nationwide, I think people, in general, are a tad suspicious of what this winter will bring. Sad in a way as we go from vibrant spring and summer to a resting dormant state of winter. Hope those Roughies are on your doorstep and the winter waterfowl and finches keep you busy.
Many thanks for sharing your art!
Thanks, Dick. I hope Roughies come down in good numbers this winter. Last year was a bust.
Two great shots. I did go to Alaska last spring and got lucky with some images. If I had to choose between images of juvys vs adults, I think I would take the young birds because of their variability. But beggars can’t be choosers. Its pretty amazing how the two shots convey differences in the season. The juvenile shot makes me feel warm while with the adult I fell like I’m freezing my you know what off.
Home grown tomatoes are special compared to store bought.
Frank, it almost felt like summer that January day when the first photo was taken. It was in the middle of a January thaw so there wasn’t even any ice on the pond, the sun was shining and it was relatively warm. In contrast I’ve frozen my butt off at Farmington many times while photographing eagles.
Store-bought tomatoes don’t deserve to be eaten. I’d rather put canned asparagus in my mouth and that’s saying something…