Bald eagle capture

[christopher88]

It was late afternoon and decreasing sunlight so I bumped up the iso to more than normal to achieve higher shutter speed.With this photo I learned to not be so anal about perfect focus 100% of the time and view it as a capture of the mood of the moment or as art expression.
Anyway dont be shy to bump up iso to get a higher shutter speed as in this shot I'm glad I did and have a lesser quality photo thats useable than a blurred one in the desktop recycle bin.
Post processing was simple NR and levels adjustment .
Taken on mississippi near leclaire iowa
This photo is seriously downsized so keep that in mind and if interested go to my website to see better quality shots of eagles and winter landscapes @ McCormicks Photography

I went back to check exif after I posted this to make sure iso wasnt higher and wtf 4g card vanished with the days shoot,I bumped iso to 650 for a bit but was at 1/800th shutter speed and was worried bout blur so went to 800 iso to get 1/000th SS right around this time kuz sun was almost gone and left shortly after this shot.
Olympus e-620
270mm
F8 iso-650 or 800
1/1000 spot metering
NR on, C-AF and reduced focus points to single center point at normal sensitivity.
custom WB (where I live with all the snow here I have to set it between 6 and 7000 or snow is too blue.Snow everywhere cept some of the shots like this and its common to have snow and water in pic during eagle fest.

[IMG][/IMG]

[CBabcock]

Very nice capture. 650 isn't too far out of line for an action shot.
There's been a bunch of Eagles spotted around my area, the weather just hasn't been conducive to go shoot.

[melissalbeck]

That is a spectacular shot!

[NgaiHill]

Great shot, great timing and well worth the extra ISO
Thanks for sharing.

[kompressor]

Great shot.

Just curious, is that a copyright symbol on a displacement map? Or am I seeing things?

[christopher88]

Thanks everyone,well my situation with my gear is that alot of times im maxed out on everything and have to bump up iso to higher levels and the olympus is kinda known for its noise issues with regular lenses.And im a stickler for sharpness as most of you are...as to the copyright symbol is just a layer and the circle and c is grey and layer property is dodge with opacity bumped down...very quick.Thanks again for the nice words,im a newb and only got my dslr in oct last year.this site has helped alot..kudos to the site staff and to all of you who make it happen.

[Texlelaytax]

You probably very clever? or cunning?

[thunderchild]

Which of your lenses did you use?

[christopher88]

Oops I thought I put that in.srry I used the 300mm and its was around 270mm kuz at 300 images are softer so I basically stay at 270mm when shooting these amazing huge birds.I can never get close even with that lens but it helps and that lens seems a shade better than the kit lenses,glasswise.Ive seen shots from guys using a multiplier and 300 that are superb,but I guess the high grade 200mm is really awesome,tack sharp and way better in lower light kuz of its low F stop..but at 3 times the cost.

[christopher88]

I understand that "CBabcock"...2 days w sun in 3 weeks,blizzard,grey dark skies and sub 20 degree temps everyday.When will it end.lol.I tell ya im only standing out there for a couple hrs. and what i get is what i get kuz its brutal.fingers are numb and trying to push little buttons on a camera,wow.Ive been to this spot 3 times and all in Jan,Feb and dont have great luck unless sun is out.I seen ur from NY youve been hit worse this year than us.Wicked weather.