Stellars Eagle coming down from Russia in the time of plenty in March to fatten up and get ready for the breeding season back in Russia...
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Stellars Eagle coming down from Russia in the time of plenty in March to fatten up and get ready for the breeding season back in Russia
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Contest Finalist in Majestic Eagles Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Anything Birds Photo Contest
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brianbaitystudio
May 16, 2018
thank you for giving us a title and description. I feel this is the correct way to submit photos. Well done!
LindieK
November 03, 2018
Thank you, Brian...it makes for interesting reading when ‘Togs do that, I must say.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken off the island of Hokkaido, north of Japan. I was on a Fishing Trawler doing special trips into the deep sea during the few weeks the Stellar's Eagles and White-Tailed Eagles come from Russia to gorge themselves and fatten up from the bounty of the Sea before returning to Russia to breed.Time
I boarded the vessel early that morning and this photo must have been taken between 11h00 and 12h00 on this very grey, snowy morning. The wind-chill was bad...must have been -4... But, with a diffuser as big as the sky, the scene was set.Lighting
Natural light. You cannot go around shooting wild eagles with a flash ... lol...I had to check and re-check my exposure as it's quite tricky to get it right with the marked difference of white snow and black eagle.Equipment
Nikon 600 with 70-200 Nikkor Lens. No room for a tripod on a rickety boat, and definitely not with eagles dropping in from the sky. I was quite satisfied with the length because I could zoom in and out as they were coming closer.Inspiration
Japan, and especially the Eagles have been on the Bucket-list for a while. I was fascinated with the fact that Birds would know about a bounty in the deep sea that lasts for 3weeks at most and would come so far to avail of it, sleeping at the site (on the drifting snow in the sea, no less!) to make the most of what Nature has to offer.Editing
Yes, I shoot RAW. I mostly got it right in camera, so just the usual...exposure,contrast, black and white tweaking, sharpening and denoising...just your ordinary Lightroom-processing of a RAW image.In my camera bag
My Nikon, D500, 105mm f2.8 Macro Lens, 50mm f1.8, 70-200 Nikkor and a Sony A7III with 100-400 and a 24-85mm Sony LensesFeedback
The island of Hokkaido is a MUST to visit for any Wildlife Photographer. You have 4 very unique subjects there: The Snow Monkeys in the Jogokudani Reserve, The Whooper Swans, the Red-Crowned Cranes and then the piece de resistance ..the Spectacle of the Stellar's and White-tailed Eagles...all during a brief 3-4week period...late February-March every year. I watched the Red-Crowned Cranes doing the mating dance with (must have been) 50 other Togs and felt like a proud parent when the first mating took place the day I was leaving!