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Taking Flight
Taking Flight
jbsmithana


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Wildlife IV (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR
Location: Samish River Flats, Washington State
Date: Oct 14, 2008
Aperture: F5.6
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/3000
Galleries: Nature, Birds
Date Uploaded: Oct 17, 2008

 My first D300 entry! Love the lower noise and faster more accurate focus system in this body. Still getting used to it so I now know that on a bright day like this I can shoot birds in flight at a smaller aperture. F8 would have produced a better shot with more DOF.

Only non-rainy day this week I had time to shoot. Went out to get a Northern Harrier in flight as they normally fly low and I know a few fields they hunt in but no luck getting close. Found this guy on a phone pole and was able to catch a burst when he took off. Most had wires or the pole with the bird so I could not use them, hope this one works.

Converted in Capture NX
Camera Adjustments: Picture Control Vivid, Adjust -1, Auto Sharpen, Contrast -1, Brightness 0, Saturation 0, Hue 0
RAW Adjustments: No changes from recorded
Color Booster: Protect Skin Tones, Auto adj
Photo Effects: Brightness 2, Enhance Dark Tones, +3 Yellow-Blue
Noise Reduction: Intensity 20%, Sharpness 5

Cleaned in Noise Ninja with touchup of eagle to retain detail

PSE6
8x10 Crop, clone out fuzz on beak & claw, levels layer set at 0 1.00 250 and erase effect on white, contrast layer set at 20 and erase effect on white, saturation layer set at +10 for blue and yellow and erase effect on white, resize, USM run twice at 200 .3 3 and then 120, .2 3, add border, save for web.

Statistics
Place: 5 out of 159
Avg (all users): 6.8861
Avg (commenters): 7.9444
Avg (participants): 6.9178
Avg (non-participants): 6.8682
Views since voting: 3756
Views during voting: 441
Votes: 202
Comments: 28
Favorites: 6 (view)

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AuthorThread
 10/08/2009 08:20:34 PM
Now this is a great shot of a bald eagle....This makes me proud to be an american
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/31/2008 07:26:15 PM
Congrats on your 5th place with this beautiful shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/30/2008 08:02:17 AM
woow great shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 04:54:40 AM
Congratulations on a good placing in the top 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 03:23:09 AM
Tremendous capture of the bird flying - well deserved HM, in fact I thought this would be ahead of mine - not complaining you understand :- )

Looks like you are going to have fun with your new camera if this is it's first outing !
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 02:17:04 AM
Amazing. I look forward to seeing some outtakes.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 12:38:59 AM
Thanks to all for the comments and votes. Happy to have another new front page shot but second in a row I lost a PB. Maybe next one!

For those who asked the OOF wing was caused by the apperature setting giving so little DOF. These guys have 5-6 foot wing spans and I did not get them al in focus.
 10/27/2008 12:07:16 AM
Great shot! Look at those talons!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
10/26/2008 01:57:27 PM
Interesting use of selective filtering.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/26/2008 01:03:30 PM
The yellow really leaps out at you from the clear blue background. I like the soft smoothness of the tail and right wing, it's almost like a watercolour painting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/26/2008 11:03:47 AM
Wow; he's really popping out of this shot! He looks a little blurry in places, like some sort of noise reduction was needed, but that fierce eye is beautifully sharp.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/26/2008 08:31:55 AM
Expertly photographed - throughly impressive.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2008 02:48:04 PM
I'm really jealous! I'd love to see a bald eagle let alone catch a shot of one. The feathers on his tail & his right wing look a little muddied IMO, but really nice detail in his face, feet & other wing. Great job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2008 12:13:25 AM
Nice capture, sharp, well done
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2008 08:29:20 PM
Wow, he's scary, I love the accent on the claws and head. Well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2008 03:23:02 PM
Such magnificent birds !

Great capture !
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2008 02:32:42 PM
too bad about the closer wing being just oof. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 10:41:22 PM
Terrrific details in this image. Great in flight capture....such an intense expression. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 09:00:53 PM
Nice in-flight capture, very crisp, nice composition, 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 08:19:38 PM
coming back to comment:

Getting an eagle in flight is a goal of wildlife photographers - getting one with it's claws extended and a clear view of the eye makes it even sweeter - great job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 06:11:21 PM
The best of the eagle shots in the challenge. Excellent color and clarity! 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 03:50:15 PM
mmm the image is great, the pose of the bird is majestic. the only thing that I don't like is the evident noise removal on the wings
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 02:13:45 PM
Beautiful capture. Perfectly composed.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 01:01:55 PM
Lovely capture indeed with wonderful sharp detail and colour and great composition and shapes.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 12:38:41 PM
cooool! great job, this is an excellent photo
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 10:10:16 AM
Easy top five from me. You have some very tough competition for a ribbon!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 09:19:49 AM
Nice photo!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 02:57:06 AM
Wow....excellent!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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