Bald eagle
May, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Ladner, British Columbia, Canada. In a bird sanctuary. I used to go there frequently, but I never stumbled upon larger birds out there. So it's a really lucky shot I got in to get this close before he flew away.Time
Around 9-10 in the morning. I always mean to go early in the morning to get some action of their mornings as well but it doesn't always pan out. It worked out though coming late this day.Lighting
Just natural light. A bit of an overcast summer morning created this great look for me.Equipment
This is an old photo. I took it when I was just starting out with my Canon 50D. I do still have that camera, I couldn't part with it. First love and all, hehe. The lens on the camera is the old 100-400mm f4.5-5.6. I love that lens. It is great for all my wildlife and any outdoor needs (I can't carry or afford a faster lens with this kind of range). My clients love it as well because I can get great candid shots from a distance not annoying anybody and people don't realize there's a photographer around. As you can see when you do a good job an older camera and lens can still give you amazing results.Inspiration
I just have constant love for photography. I would do any kind of shoot to be honest, being behind the camera and creating stories in images and creating unique perspectives on life is my motivation. I do love wildlife and animals are just very majestic to me.Editing
I got a high contrast sharp style for my photos. So that's what I try doing, and when the light is great like that without hard shadows, it's easy to give it good contrast and color. As you can see around the bird's head there's a bit more color, I dulled the green on the outside a bit so as to draw more attention to the head, the portrait isn't perfectly positioned but I didn't want to crop it and lose a wing.In my camera bag
Always a 50mm. currently it's a f1.4 that I was given and I fixed (it was broken and still has battle scars) and am super stoked that I was able to do that. That's the most versatile prime and everyone should have it. I used to have a 16-35mm 2.8 II but then I compared to a 16-28 tokina 2.8 and the tokina is actually more impressive to me, to be honest. It doesn't have the 35mm range, it weighs twice as much, it is a pain getting a filter for it, but in the end it was still more worth the money you pay for. I also have a 100mm macro, good for portraits and great for all the detail shots. 100-400mm 4.5-5.6 as I mentioned is with me whenever I know light won't be an issue. I also recently got a Rokinon 8mm fisheye. It's a cheap and fun lens. I mostly do baby and pet photos with it as well as some very stylized photos, it's fun to do videos with. My newest toy is a Mavic Air that I can just throw in my bag as well for even more range and unique perspective.Feedback
Patience. I go out there and I sometimes sit for an hour or two without any action or just watching waiting for a move. It's easy for me, cause I'm that easily captivated by wildlife. Otherwise, if you're going to approach animals you have to do your research on how to approach what animal (it's usually same advice of being quiet and slow and not even looking in their direction sometimes), but with birds it's simple. Stay away from their young, which isn't hard with eagles as their nests tend to be higher than I can go. Be quick with your shutter (1000-2000 is normally a good spot for me) don't be afraid to crank your ISO if you need to. With experience you can predict some movements and know what to do as well. The best advice is always...go out and shoot.
