Alaska, early 2011

[Recty]

Just a couple eagle pictures and a Youtube video... I took relatively few pictures this weekend, we had a blizzard which turned into rain and the weather pretty much sucked, so no scenery shots at all, there was just a small sunny break so I went out and took some eagle pictures real quick!

Notice how in the picture below the eagle is blinking... they have a clear membrane they pull over their eyes but still allow them to see. You can faintly see his pupil through it.

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[Recty]

Then here is the last batch of them...

 

[fatrip]

awsome shots!! what lens were you using?

 

[Recty]

Canon 100-400, I borrow my brother's doubler also, so I was shooting at 800mm for some shots.

 

[Mandragen]

Amazing

 

[IPT]

I can hear the screaching in my mind . Nice shpts.

What is the deal with this weather? 45 degrees, come on now...yuck!

 

[Jstdv8]

Grant, those pics are amazing. Where did you go to find an eagle eating a piece of deer?

 

[Recty]

The deer bone was from a carcass left over from cleaning some deer caught on Kodiak.

Thanks, I was really pleased with the way the pictures turned out. I'm really loving that 100-400mm lens. Never take lens advice from IPT, never

 

[Jstdv8]

BTW, this is salty, from the local forums

 

[Recty]

BTW, this is salty, from the local forums

I thought so, a while back I saw you post a question on Frag Swap and then do the same here, or reference a post you made here. I couldnt remember exactly who you were Frag Swap, I wasnt sure if you were that young kid who posts 800 times a day, the other kid who posts 800 times a day or someone else, but I knew you were on Frag Swap

I put another video up on YouTube, this one is a closer perspective, I was taking it all the way zoomed in.

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[edandsandy]

Your photo's are beautiful as usual... I always look forward to seeing them....
Thank you for sharing.

 

[edandsandy]

Your photo's are beautiful as usual... I always look forward to seeing them....
Thank you for sharing.

 

[chimmike]

Those guys are crazy staying up in the cold when they could fly south! haha.

We've got a bald eagle nest 100 yards from my house sitting on top of a cellphone tower. They've come back to nest every year for the past 5 years. Beautiful birds.

awesome photos!

 

[Recty]

Those guys are crazy staying up in the cold when they could fly south! haha.

We've got a bald eagle nest 100 yards from my house sitting on top of a cellphone tower. They've come back to nest every year for the past 5 years. Beautiful birds.

awesome photos!

Hah, no kidding... one interesting fact is the bald eagles have feathers, thick feathers, all the way down their legs, whereas an eagle like the golden eagle does not, their legs are bare. It helps they stay warmer up here in Alaska. They really dont seem to mind the cold at all. I've seen them land in the deep snow and sit there for 30 minutes, then fly off again like nothing.

Any three legged eagles coming out of that nest above the cell tower?

Your photo's are beautiful as usual... I always look forward to seeing them....
Thank you for sharing.

Thanks, it's nice to hear. Photography is certainly a nice hobby that can be entertaining for everyone, both the photographer and the viewer, so that's pretty cool.

 

[IPT]

. I'm really loving that 100-400mm lens. Never take lens advice from IPT, never

Ha, ha, this from the guy who was asking me what lens I used in my thread :hmm2:.....

BTW, I really like the shot you took from your deck, that's great. What lens was that taken with?

You seem to have a good copy of the 100-400 (not a common occurence from what I read). I'm not saying it is a bad lens, just that it's not on the same level as a fixed 300 or 400. Of course it is not as expensive as those lenses either. The quality difference might only be subtle, but if am paying over a grand (or 3 or 4K) I want every once of resolution I can get. Even with the super smooth quality of high ISO these days I wouldn't want to be trying to shoot wildlife in less than ideal light conditions at F5.6 (common during prime time dusk and dawn shooting times). Even at F2.8 I sometime wish for more speed. One might argue the 100-400 offers more versatility with the zoom. Though, when I am shooting wildlife I can think of only a handfull of times in ten years I actually wanted less than the full range of my 300 telephoto. Being able to pull back vs a having a fixed lens is a non issue (for me). But hey, it's working for you, you're happy with it, and you're producing some quality images with it so rock on man :beer:. I'm glad you're happy with your choice.

 

[IPT]

what the heck?? ... double post,,,opps.

 

[tor101898]

those pics are amazing..

 

[Recty]

those pics are amazing..

Thanks

IPT, I'm just giving you crap. Everything you said makes sense and I do agree that having a more expensive, nicer lens would be ideal, but I had around $1500 to spend, not $4500

My other concern is that I dont use my lens JUST for wildlife and I do end up taking quite a few pictures not at 400mm. If I was going to always just be at 400mm, I wouldnt mind having a prime lens but I find myself zooming in and out a LOT. For quite a few of my eagle pictures that turned out good and I didnt post, I was at 100mm because I was trying to get the whole scene in the shot, not just the eagle itself.

Of course, I could always swap in a 135mm prime or something like that, and then switch to a 300mm prime for a good telephoto shot, but that's hard to do when standing in hip deep wet snow

All in all, I'm very happy with my 100-400. Very. I'd like to have a 300mm prime just to test and see if it really produces better images. I can't imagine it makes them $3000 better though, since I dont really know how they would improve much more, I'm getting some nice clarity and sharpness in my images. The biggest thing would be being able to shoot early morning and late night, that would indeed be awesome and I cant do it with my current lens.

That's the other thing too, unless I'm selling my photos, I cant justify spending $4500 on a lens, that's a trip to Hawaii for my family for two weeks But if I was selling photography, I might be able to justify it a lot easier!

 

[Reef Bass]

Damn your full frame sensor and quality glass! Those look great.

 

[IPT]

Thanks
Of course, I could always swap in a 135mm prime or something like that, and then switch to a 300mm prime for a good telephoto shot, but that's hard to do when standing in hip deep wet snow .

I can't imagine it makes them $3000 better though, since I dont really know how they would improve much more, I'm getting some nice clarity and sharpness in my images. The biggest thing would be being able to shoot early morning and late night, that would indeed be awesome and I cant do it with my current lens.

That's the other thing too, unless I'm selling my photos, I cant justify spending $4500 on a lens, that's a trip to Hawaii for my family for two weeks But if I was selling photography, I might be able to justify it a lot easier!

LOL - it's not supossed to be "easy" , snow or not. Swapping lenses is a PITA no matter how you look at it.

As for the F2.8, I was very fortunate there. A former co-worker who used to be very into photography was generous enough to loan me the 300F2.8. After 4 years still hasn't asked for it back (and yes I told him I still have it - I think he said something to the effect of "better a young buck like you be lugging it around and using it, than an old fart like me having sit on the closet floor" . I never used a 100-400, and I don't know what the image quality looks like at 100% in a RAW file, but what you're posting looks pretty darn good. I agree, an extra 3K is a lot to cough up for a lens! Not sure if I would have done it either if it was my cash. It sure is nice to shoot in low light though. I do use my 300F4 a lot too. Your thought about that and a 135 would be sweet! That 135 would be a great lens for portraits of the ladies in your life too . Especially now that you are FF!

Anyway, looks like Homer was a great trip and you got some nice stuff again. I miss the Eagle Lady . Too bad the weather is so lame, there are some nice landscape oppotunities on that ride usually. Well, happy shooting!