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DSC_0799 Eagle coming in for a landing on the Mississippi
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DSC_0799 Eagle coming in for a landing on the Mississippi



behind the lens badge
cameraNIKON D750

settings Aperture 63/10 ISO 800 Shutter 1/4000 Focal Length 6000/10 

upload_dateMay, 2016

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4 Comments |
edj41 Platinum
 
edj41 June 10, 2016
Good thing she has her long pants on its going to be cold water. Great capture!
martymckay PRO+
martymckay August 26, 2016
It was a super cold day but lots of sunshine :)
andikhariyanto
 
andikhariyanto June 13, 2016
Great moment!
martymckay PRO+
martymckay August 26, 2016
Thank you :)
DavesAdventures
 
DavesAdventures April 11, 2017
Gorgeous Capture. Only two things that would have made it better... It bringing up a beautiful salmon or trout and or Myself capturing this beautiful action. Nice work
stevenmckenzie
 
stevenmckenzie April 11, 2017
Beautiful capture!

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Behind The Lens

Location

Coming In For A Landing was taken on a cold Sunday morning on the Mississippi River along The Great River Road between Alton , IL and Grafton, IL. I noticed around 10 eagles so I pulled off the road for a chance to get some shots. The eagles love to get on a chunk of ice and slowly go down the river.

Time

It was mid morning. I had been out looking for eagles since the early morning hours. Around 9:30 success! It was eagle breakfast time. As they had their kill on the ice floating down the river. They were playing, soaring, landing and having fun as a family unit.

Lighting

The sun came over the bluffs onto the river and the light was fantastic. I was able to pull up the shutter speed without having to push up the ISO to get the wings without blurr.

Equipment

As I pulled off the road in order to get the majestic birds in action I worried that there was no time to set up the tripod. The Sigma sport is a heavy lens so I used the railing along the road to balance the my Nikon D750 with the Sigma Sport 150-600. I was able to get several shots of the beautiful eagles flying, eating on the ice, playing, and falling into the water. Coming in for a landing was my favorite shot of the day. Although there were many shots that morning that I consider some of my best eagle photos.

Inspiration

In the winter I love to find the eagles and take images. The National bird is always a crowd pleaser. It's fun getting bundled up on the weekend and go out for a drive hoping to find these majestic birds just hanging out doing their thing.

Editing

Very little. Since I took this photo with a full frame camera and didn't have time to put the teleconvertor on it is mostly just cropped. I do use lightroom for most photos.

In my camera bag

Nikon D750 or D850 28-300 Nikon lens is my every day lens. The big lenses are a Nikkor Prime 500, and the Sigma 150-600 Sport.

Feedback

Always be patient this particular day I wasn't finding much until I ran across these eagles having a party. Many times it is best to stay put but in this case driving around is how I was able to get this shot.

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