The Great American Symbol

[buzzsaw]

There are few creatures that are as graceful in the air as the Bald Eagle. I have recently taken quite a few shots of these beauties of the sky, here are a few I'd like to share.

Finally, stopping to take a drink.

[smg04]

awsome pics, that first one with the tail faned out is awsome, what a cool bird, i wonder what they taste like though ..... J/K!

[The_Duckslayer]

SMG they taste like a cross between a spotted owl and chicken!

Mike, once again your pictures are GREAT! Thanks for sharing! I don't know if you know how much us mere point and shoot's N Joy them! Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[smg04]

yeah i've been told their just as good as fried loon, oops did i say that out loud

[Jim Almquist]

Great shots Mike. That first with the tail feathers all fanned out and so white is just awesome.

I like mine with a bacon wrap with jalapenos

[Eric Wettschreck]

Thanks for the picture Mike. The last one is my new background.

Marinated and bacon wrapped.

[buzzsaw]

You guys are kind, I appreciate the words and am just glad you appreciate the pictures. I personally like the top picture the most, actually blew it up and framed it yesterday. I like my Eagle with brown sugar and fried onions.

[Mrs Boilerman]

Those are just awesome, Mike. Very cool.

[Tyler Holm]

Great photos. Love the first one!

[buzzsaw]

Muchos gracious! I took a stroll for a few hours on New Years Day and ran across a few more feathered friends... they unfortunately were pretty spooky today and wouldn't let me get too close. Here's what I ended up getting....

Then while I was watching the eagle, a threesome of Mallards spooked up and started flying in the direction of the Eagle, I saw the opportunity .. waited, waited and got lucky to get the Ducks in focus with an eagle for the background.

Somebody call 911, we have a jumper!!

[pickinupafew]

Wow! Really impressed. Excellent composition and post production. Gotta agree with the many, my favorite is #1.

[buzzsaw]

Thanks Pickinupafew! Appreciate the kind words.

[buzzsaw]

A few more from yesterdays hour lunch... should have brought the warm boots.

[carlcmc]

Wonderful pictures.

I like the first one with wings outstretched. The diagonal works great. All the pictures have good DOF and great focus of the eagle.

What iso did you shoot at and other technical details?

[carlcmc]

that very last one in your last post is a great photograph. Your cropping is very effective. I don't know what was in the rest of the shot (a tree perhaps?) but the cropping really makes it stand out.

[buzzsaw]

Quote:

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What iso did you shoot at and other technical details?

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Carl, I "almost" always shoot ISO 400 when I'm hand holding the camera, I'' lower it to ISO 200 as well. This was at ISO 400 F/8 I'm pretty certain. I "usually" shoot between F/8 - F/11 if possible... it really depends on the available light, I like to get atleast 1/800 sec shutter speed and prefer 1/1250 sec for flight shots. I'm currently on a mission to get some extremely close Redtail Hawk photo's... we'll see if my "pre-work" pays off this weekend. If your ever up for visiting the MN River Valley, you are welcome to join me.

[carlcmc]

Someday I may have to take you up on that. During the summer when we are out fishing on the Mississippi, I see bunches of these beautiful birds as well.