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RIFFMASTERDAN

Screaming Eagle

NIKON D7200

settings

Aperture f/6.3 ISO 400 Shutter 1/2500 Focal Length 5500/10

upload_date

Apr, 2019

Views

1117

Likes

+86

Awards

Top Shot Award 21

Spring 21 Award

Judge Favorite

Contest Finalist in Shallow Depth Photo Contest

Celebrity Award

Peer Award

+35

Absolute Masterpiece

+11

Top Choice

Superb Composition

Outstanding Creativity

Magnificent Capture

Genius

Virtuoso

Emotions

Impressed

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Behind The Lens

Location

I am new to wild life photography. However, I am taking a cruise to Alaska and thought I should start shooting some wildlife. So, I got a great deal on a Sigma 150-600MMC that I mount to my D7200. I checked this lens out by watching several reviews and it's fantastic for the money. Anyway, I started practicing with it, shooting local birds and dogs at the local dog park. I have developed a a new respect for wildlife photographers. It's really hard to shoot a flying bird hand held with a heavy lens. Keeping them in the frame and in focus is just a pain. But, I am getting better. I wanted to shoot some eagles so I will be ready for Alaska. We have a local breeding pair but they are really unpredictable. So, I went to the San Francisco zoo which is where this was taken. She was just sitting in her tree and just as we were leaving she started to scream. I pulled my camera back up and started shooting and I was really happy with the results. The lens is really sharp and blows out the back ground really well.

Time

This was in the middle of the afternoon. She was in the shadow of the trees but just enough light was coming through to light up her upper body.

Lighting

As I mentioned above, this was in the middle of the afternoon. She was shadowed in the trees but just enough light was coming through the tree to light up her body. The light was perfect.

Equipment

Nikon D7200, Sigma 150-600MMC. Hand held.

Inspiration

I am going to Alaska. That has inspired me to start shooting wildlife. I want to have at-least some level of experience before I go so I have started shooting local birds and dogs running around in our local dog park. I have wanted to shoot eagles for a long time. I got a great deal on a new Sigma 150-600. I have been practicing for a couple of months. I thought it would be fun to go play with the lens at the San Francisco zoo and they happened to have a female bald eagle. I was pretty excited. She was sitting in some trees on an island. She was in the shadows but enough light was cutting through to light up her upper body. I got lucky as she started screaming just as I was leaving. Captured several great images but this was the most unique and one of my favorites.

Editing

I always shoot raw and I post process in Lightroom. I don't know a great deal about how to use Lightroom to it's full capabilities so I do very little post processing. I like contrasty photos so I add some contrast and play a little bit with the basic sliders. I try to practice filling the frame as much as possible so I don't have to crop later.

In my camera bag

I use a Nikon D7200. I always carry my Sigma 17-50 2.8(which a great lens for the money), Tamron 70-200MM 2.8G2, extra batteries and memory cards, circular polarizer and 10 stop ND filters, cable release, and basic lens cleaning items. I only bring out the 150-600 when I intend on using it and I always have a tripod in the trunk of my car. I have a Sigma 10-20MM when I intend on doing landscape or nightscapes and I have a speed light when I feel I will need extra flash power.

Feedback

First is practice using your gear. Get out of auto. Once I learned the exposure triangle(ISO, shutter speed, aperture) and how one affect the others, I have never gone back to an aperture priority or shutter priority mode. I do use autofocus but I really like the ability to change my settings to shoot what I am shooting. I shot for a couple of years and kept getting images that weren't sharp enough. The simple fix was to increase my shutter speed which of course means you have to bump up the ISO to compensate for the loss of light. I shot this eagle at 1/2500. Aperture priority would have never gotten this right. Why I like this photo(and the others I took with it) is because I nailed the exposure and the focus. Watch YouTube. There is a ton of great videos to help you become a better photographer. I had my composition skills down, but was not getting proper exposure or sharp photos. Just a few videos on YouTube changed everything(including learning about the importance of good glass) and made my photography better by leaps and bounds and it's become so much more fun. Now I just need to get out and shoot so I can get better.

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RIFFMASTERDAN

Screaming Eagle

Behind The Lens

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