Drivermann

Wedgetail 1

An Australian Wedgetail Eagle. One of the largest birds able to fly

An Australian Wedgetail Eagle. One of the largest birds able to fly
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NIKON D7100

settings

Aperture f/4.0 ISO 320 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 1750/10

upload_date

Mar, 2015

Views

199

Likes

Awards

Action Award

Zenith Award

Legendary Award

Staff Winter Selection 2015

Top Choice

Absolute Masterpiece

Outstanding Creativity

Superb Composition

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 30 rank

Top 20 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

At the Gorge Wildlife Park. This Wedge Tail Eagle has a damaged wing and can't fly properly. If he wasn't living in captivity he would have starved to death as he is unable to hunt.

Time

This was taken in the early afternoon on a slightly overcast day.

Lighting

Photographed used available light. Whilst it was photographed in the very early afternoon these was some cloud cover and the Eagle was under the canopy of some trees.

Equipment

I used a Nikon D7100 camera and a Tamron 70-200 F2.8 lens. The photo was taken hand held at F2.8 so as to limit the depth of field. I wanted the background to be really out of focus. The green background was that effect.

Inspiration

I spent the day at the Gorge Wildlife Park and wanted to take some animal and bird photos. I saw this Wedgetail Eagle in a very large cage and wanted to get a head/shoulders photo

Editing

The photo was taken in RAW and then processed in Photoshop. There is almost no post processing apart from increasing the clarity.

In my camera bag

I don't carry a lot of equipment. I try to plan what I'm going to photograph and then take the appropriate equipment. I generally carry the D7100 with a 16-85 Nikkor lens and then have the Tamron 70-200 and a Tokina 12-28. If I am photographing animals or birds in the wild I also have a Tamron 150-600. This I would use on a tripod if possible

Feedback

Patience and timing are all important. I reckon I spent 30 to 40 minutes photographing this Wedgetail Eagle. Before that the sun was directly overhead creating very strong shadows. Then the bird moved and my view was obstructed by a tree. Focus is very important as a 200 mm lens at f2.8 gives a very small depth of field The point of focus must be the eye or eyes. When you look at the photo you can see that the feathers on the birds head are starting to go soft whereas the eye and the beak are pin sharp. Hope this helps

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Drivermann

Drivermann

Wedgetail 1

An Australian Wedgetail Eagle. One of the largest birds able to fly

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow Drivermann

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