What a great morning. Let's kill something.
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Aperture f/2.8 ISO 100 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 120/1 
Phoenix, Arizona, US
Jun, 2019Views
5952
Likes
Awards
Contender in the Photography Awards
Contender in the Visual Poetry Project
People's Choice in Happy New Year! Photo Challenge
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 21
Spring 21 Award
People's Choice in Your best eagle shot Photo Challenge
Judge Favorite
9Teen Award
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Volume4
Contest Finalist in Anything Animals Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
Virtuoso
Genius
Top Ranks
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Categories
Platinum
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
June 12, 2019
Thank you. I think I'm in it. I am proud with this end result, especially since I was shooting through a screen fence.
Ultimate
Lilgurl
June 12, 2019
Gorgeous and magnificent bird. This is one of the nicest I have seen!! Beautiful😊
PRO+
PRO+
RickL
July 15, 2019
Exceptional composition and photography, love the setting and your eagle is in perfect focus with exceptional use of background bokah
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
July 15, 2019
Thank you. I got lucky: usually, the large birds of prey face away from the viewer. I found an angle between the various branches. In post, I cropped it at a 1:1 aspect ratio. The square shape allowed me to highlight the eagle without a lot of extraneous foliage. I'm still learning, but this one came out okay.
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
August 27, 2019
Thank you. I had to wait a while until the eagle was facing in the right direction, but I think the wait made the result worthwhile.
Platinum
Eddieuuu071
November 26, 2019
Thank you for submitting you wonderful photo to my Best Nature Photo challenge! Best of luck!
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
November 26, 2019
Thank you for your appreciation. Now I only have to wait on the voting public - here's hoping.
PRO+
Platinum
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
March 05, 2020
Thank you. The owl and eagle shots both were taken during the same zoo trip. I need to get back there one of these days.
PerceptionsOfLife
July 02, 2020
I love your photos and I love nature. Keep up the great photographs.
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
July 02, 2020
Thank you. That is one of the nicest compliments I've ever received, and it's done in one concise sentence. Bravo!
Ultimate
PRO+
PRO
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
July 06, 2020
Thank you, Joop. I enjoyed taking it, and I especially enjoyed editing it.
Platinum
Eddieuuu071
July 12, 2020
What a wonderful photo! Thank you for entering my challenge “Best of 2020”. Good luck.
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
July 12, 2020
Thank you. I wish you all the luck editing entries and selecting the ultimate winner. I am sure you will get many amazing photos.
PRO+
Ultimate
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
August 20, 2020
Thank you, Jessica. Over the course of 50+ years of photography, this photo ranks in my top 10 favorites.
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
October 04, 2020
Thank you. This is one of two eagle photos I have that have garnered over 900 Awards between them. Your photos are amazingly creative - great work! - Steve
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
October 25, 2020
Thank you. This is one of two eagle photos I have that have garnered over 900 Awards between them. I appreciate all the attention they have grabbed. - Steve
PRO+
Platinum
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
November 27, 2020
Thank you. This photo has garnered more Viewbug Awards than any of my other shots. I used Canon's superlative 70-200mm f/2.8L ISM II lens. Then I cropped out anything extraneous. I shot with the lens wide open at f/2.8 to maximize bokeh.
PRO+
Platinum
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
July 11, 2021
Thank you. I had to crop it at a 1:1 aspect ratio to eliminate extraneous foliage.
PRO+
PRO
dalechatten
August 06, 2023
Beautiful shot like how you can still see the environment with which the bird lives..not to blurred. Very beautiful.
PRO+
Steve-n-Ning
August 06, 2023
Thank you. I had the lens aperture wide open for a minimum depth of field, so objects both in the foreground and the background are blurred.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Phoenix Zoo in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.Time
This photo was taken around 9:00am in May, 2019. Phoenix had an unusually mild May. I took advantage of the milder weather to both walk around comfortably and to catch many animals who otherwise would be indoors to escape the normal May heat. The temperature was forecast to be in the 90s by mid-day, so I wanted to complete all my shots in the morning.Lighting
This photo was shot with natural light. That day was a bit cloudy so the sunlight was filtered. This worked well with the natural dark environment of the eagle's position in its enclosure. The 120mm telephoto setting allowed the camera to pierce through interposing leaves and branches as well as to capture background foliage.Equipment
This was shot handheld with a Canon 5D Mk IV and Canon's excellent EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens. The ISO was set at 100, focal length was 120mm and shutter speed of 1/200. The aperture was set wide open at f/2.8 to achieve maximum bokeh. There was an interposing chain link fence that was kept out of the shot by placing the lens directly against the fence and shooting through a natural opening.Inspiration
Birds of prey are popular subjects for many photographers, myself included. Unfortunately, in my experience, birds tend to look away from the viewing public and frustrate attempts to photograph them in a flattering pose. In this instance, I waited and watched until the eagle had turned sideways for a profile shot.Editing
The original photo was shot in RAW format. All post-processing was done in Adobe Lightroom on a 32 inch 4k monitor. First, the photo was cropped at a 1:1 aspect ratio to allow the eagle to be framed at maximum size while still allowing for both foreground and background objects in frame. Then various parameters such as highlights and shadows were adjusted until the resulting photo captured the intensity and the texture of the eagle's feathers and colors.In my camera bag
My Canon EOS 5D Mark IV always has my Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM lens mounted on it. That is my go-to lens for the majority of my photos. I also carry several lenses: Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM, Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM [used for this particular photo], and a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM. 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.Feedback
Try to pick a day where there is cloud cover to somewhat diffuse natural sunlight. This is particularly important in a place such as Phoenix, where very bright sunshine is the norm. As in this instance, a subject semi-hidden within overhanging foliage will give a nice exposure and afford a natural look to the image without artificial surfaces such as walls and fences. Always leave room for cropping; do not fill the viewfinder with the subject. This allows latitude in framing the image in the most flattering way. If the photo is to be shown on screen, use an aspect ratio that displays the subject in the most aesthetically pleasing manner. However, if the photo is to be printed eventually, adjust the aspect ratio to match the paper size to be used.
