The fence couldn't be avoided, but the eagle's expression and the great light forced me to take the shot anyway. I'm very glad I did. The Canon E...
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The fence couldn't be avoided, but the eagle's expression and the great light forced me to take the shot anyway. I'm very glad I did. The Canon EF 70-200mm f-2.8L IS II comes through again with a very sharp cropped photo.
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Chatter Award
Winner in Different brown tones in one shot Photo Challenge
Winner in Your best raptor photo Photo Challenge
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Magnificent Capture
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Outstanding Creativity
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Steve-n-Ning
July 02, 2019
Thank you. This lens has never let me down, even when a fence is in the way.
Steve-n-Ning
July 05, 2019
Thank you. I am pleased that you think so. When I was editing the photo, I became more and more interested in the effect the fence was having on the overall image. I like it more now than I did in the beginning.
Lilgurl
July 14, 2019
Beautiful!! Just an incredible shot. I see the expression you are referring to!! I love this!!!💜
Steve-n-Ning
July 14, 2019
Thank you. I love it, too. This, the bald eagle, the coati and the owl were all taken on the same zoo visit. Nothing like a great camera lens and a rare cool May day in Phoenix.
Steve-n-Ning
July 28, 2019
Thank you. I had to take the shot through a chain link fence, which I thought would mess it up. I was pleased that I was wrong.
jackiegoodwin
December 01, 2019
Lovely detail - thank you for entering your lovely photo into my challenge "animals of any kind" - good luck
Steve-n-Ning
February 02, 2020
Thank you, sir. I was happy the fence I had to shoot through didn't mess up the shot.
Steve-n-Ning
February 09, 2020
Thank you. This was taken with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L Zoom lens. It is another Canon lens with incredible sharpness at all focal lengths.
MMK
February 24, 2020
Thanx for all the positive feedback & support. This is the first time I have shared my images beyond a small group of family and friends.
Steve-n-Ning
February 24, 2020
My pleasure, Mark. I just re-visited your site and gave an Award to each of your photos. Thank you for sharing your wonderful gallery containing your travels and your creativity.
Steve-n-Ning
July 23, 2020
Thank you. This was taken with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L Zoom lens. It is another Canon lens with incredible sharpness at all focal lengths.
Steve-n-Ning
January 20, 2021
Thank you, Ron. I was amazed at how the fence I had to shoot through almost disappeared once I got the photo into post.
Steve-n-Ning
June 06, 2021
Thank you. I was surprised at how much detail was available once I began editing.
kurtsnyder
July 13, 2021
Wow - what an amazing portrait of this beautiful bird! What kind of hawk or eagle is it? It looks a bit like the redtailed hawk image in my gallery. Kurt
Steve-n-Ning
October 08, 2021
Hi. Sorry I am so late responding to your comment. This is a Golden Eagle, photographed through a fence. - Steve
Joviaal
December 14, 2021
Hi Steven, Congratulation with your seventh place in the My Best Capture photo contest. Well done!
shawnvillebrun84
January 21, 2022
Hi my name is Shawn Villebrun’s s I love this picture I’m from northeastern Minnesota and have had the pleasure of photographing lots of eagles unfortunately most with my phone as I no longer have my cannon 50D as it broke and I was unable to replace it. Me and my wife Tara moved to Mesa AZ in may 2021 she loves it and well let’s just say I’m still adjusting as I miss my 9 grandkids back in Minnesota but it’s getting better. I been into photography since 2011 when I was in a graphic design program in college I have a couple hundredThousand photos of my 3 kids and their teammates in basketball, football and baseball and also their friends in girls basketball and volleyball and lots of family get togethers graduations etc. any way i hope to hear back from ya someday and learn something thank you and great photo Oh and was it taken in AZ as I have yet to see any eagles out here?
Steve-n-Ning
January 21, 2022
Hello, Shawn. Welcome to Arizona. Nothing to shovel here unless you're on a dairy farm. I have lived in 5 different states over my life. I have been in AZ since 1989 and will likely end my days here. I did ski Spirit Mountain in Duluth on 3 consecutive Christmas days, so I understand where you came from. The photo of the Golden Eagle was taken at the Phoenix Zoo using a zoom lens at 135mm. There are plenty of eagles in AZ, but I don't know where inasmuch as I can't travel much (73 yrs old, battling cancer and caring for a 70-lb Belgian Malinois). Please let me know if I can provide any specific information. -- Steve
Steve-n-Ning
April 24, 2022
Thank you, Peter. I was happy the depth of field was narrow so the fence I was shooting through hardly showed.
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Phoenix Zoo.Time
This photo was taken mid-morning. There was a high overcast that somewhat diffused the usually strong Phoenix sun. This allowed the eagle's feather texture and color to be brought out.Lighting
As stated above, this photo was taken with natural sunlight which itself was somewhat diffused by high overcast clouds.Equipment
This photo was taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mk IV and a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II lens. The camera was hand-held. The eagle was a fair distance away, so the focal length was 135mm. The ISO was 125 at f/2.8 and 1/125th second.Inspiration
This Golden Eagle was absolutely beautiful, but it was behind a mesh fence. I thought at first the fence would be problematic, so I opened the aperture to its widest setting of f/2.8 to get the narrowest depth of field possible. As you can see, the fence is still visible but is blurred in the bokeh.Editing
Preliminary editing (cropping, highlights, shadows and eye color) was done in Adobe Lightroom. Then the photo was exported to On1 Effects and a preset was used to bring out the colors and textures.In my camera bag
My Canon EOS 5D Mk IV usually wears a Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM lens. That is my go-to lens for the majority of my photos. For this shot, I used a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II USM lens. I also carry several other lenses: Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM, Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, Canon EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM and a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM. I have one non-Canon lens: a Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. I try to shoot with natural light all the time, but on those occasions where I need an external light source, I use either a Neewer CN-216 LED panel or a Canon Speedlite 580EX. I have tripods by Slik, 3Pod and Manfrotto. I have a Canon EOS 7D, a Canon EOS 30D and a Canon EOS 10D, all of which I still have and use as appropriate.Feedback
Photographing any subject through a fence always poses unique and usually unavoidable challenges. In this instance, the relative distances between the camera, the fence and the eagle allowed the f/2.8 maximum aperture to create a narrow depth of field which allowed the fence to be blurred. When faced with similar obstacles, try to use bokeh to blur unwanted photo elements and make sure the subject is in perfect focus. Use a sharp lens: in this case, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L zoom lens was so sharp that a mole can be seen on the eagle's eyelid.