Eyes to Eyes
Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) - Animal in human care.
Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) - Animal in human care.
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Apr, 2017Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I created this photo in the Czech Republic during private photo event with my good friends photographers. We took advantage of a unique opportunity to take a pictures of owls and birds of prey (birds in human care, used by falconers), that moved freely in the countryside in their natural environment. The scene was carefully selected to faithfully match the natural biotope of the birds. It was an unusual experience, I was a little moment in the presence of this majestic animals.Time
I remember good, it was a gloomy morning on 8 January 2017, was around 09:45 am and was the winter gloomy mood.Lighting
The sun did not shine, and the high, continuous cloud covered the whole country. But there was enough soft diffused light. It was good for the photo. This did not create contrasting shadows and reflections on the feathers.Equipment
At that time I worked with my favourite digital camera Nikon D5 and with my new zoom lens Nikkor 200-500 mm f/5,6. I took photos without a tripod and without a flash.Inspiration
I love nature and especially wild animals, birds, reptiles and insects. But I'm very busy at work, now I can not take part in a time-consuming expedition or wait in nature for a good opportunity. That's why I'm looking for the opportunity to photograph wild animals in human care. Animal rescue stations provide a lot of opportunities to photograph animals with disabilities that can not return to nature. That's why I took advantage of the unique possibility of assisted photography of birds of prey and owls, which are tame, well tolerant of human presence, and represent little risk to the photographer.Editing
I love natural photos. Realistic shots without big adjustments. I try to capture all my photos so I do not have to use the massive post-processing. I know it is very modern and trendy today, but I do not work with PS or LR or other editing software. I invoke my NEF only in original Nikon Capture and make only minor edits. Maybe my photos could be even more attractive, but I want to show real reality.In my camera bag
The contents of my robust Tamrac bag is primarily a powerful digital camera that I can rely on in every weather. Now I'm normally using the body Nikon D6 and the backup body Nikon D850. I normally wear Nikkor lenses 24-70 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8. These "workers" have always been with me. On the "macro" action I take the excellent lens Nikkor micro 105 f/2,8. For wild animals and birds photography I need to pack "heavier weight" - now I'm using the zoom-lens Nikkor 180-400 f/4 (with TC 1.4x) and fast lenses Nikkor 300 f/2.8 and Nikkor 200 f/2. For the last three years, I have also been learning to photograph wild with the new mirrorless cameras Nikon Z6ii and Z7ii .Feedback
When it comes to photographing the endangered animal species, I recommend the form of "assisted photography". It's about photographing a species of wild animal that is in human care. The animal is tame, working well with it, and it is especially safe for humans. Most importantly, the photographer does not disturb wild animals in their natural biotope. Today there is a trend commercial group photographic expeditions to exotic countries. From the yield is funded the rescue of endangered animal species. But too frequent visits of groups of people in animal biotopes are very disturbing and stressful for endangered animals and their food chain. These expeditions can become very destructive for small animal populations and, instead of rescuing animals, can speed their extinction. We all photographers have to think, whether our money really helps those animals.
