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Are You Listening To Me? - Original

© Jeff E Jensen

Are You Listening To Me? - Original

Uploaded: February 19, 2012

Description


1/2500 Sec - f/9 - ISO 640 - 1120mm
Canon 1D Mk IV - Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS - Canon 1.4x III Teleconverter


Comments

Stephen Shoff February 19, 2012

Where'd you take this, Jeff? Did you really find them together or is it a composit? Looks to me like you found them together, but since it also looks like a sky replacement (to me), the question becomes reasonable. To me, again, the black feathers over the tail feathers don't look quite natural.

I like the setting, composition and amzaing detail. The deep darks need to be lightened opened up some. Do you ever use ACR to set your contrast I that tabs that let you use siders or manipulate the curve directly? #1444333

Jeff E Jensen February 19, 2012

Hi Stephen - This was taken yesterday morning at the Farmington Bay Bird Refuge. Every year, it is a stopping grounds for Bald Eagles on their migration. It can vary widely on how many show up. This year there haven't been hardly any. Last year, there were hundreds (literally) of them. There is nothing composite about this, the birds were together, and the sky is original. There were actually 4 birds hanging out in this tree, though I didn't manage to get all four of them in one shot.

Here's a re-work. I opened the shadows a bit. Better? I don't use ACR, most of my work is done in Lightroom with more detailed work done in CS5. #9991276

Jeff E Jensen February 19, 2012

Here's a shot that was taken shortly after the first one. This is straight out of the camera with no processing done to it. As you can see, I caught a bit of the 3rd bird. The 4th bird was to the left and lower,behind some branches. We saw a total of 12 Eagles yesterday. #9991280

Jeff E Jensen February 19, 2012

Not sure if you'll be able to get to it, but here' a shot my friend posted on Facebook from last year. There are 22 Eagles in this group.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/180825_144085235651272_119671261426003_264294_4594466_n.jpg #9991286

Stephen Shoff February 19, 2012

I wonder what that one guy had done to make everyone so mad at him!

That sure is a flat sky. but the rework opened up the shadow detail and made the profile of those wing tips more identifiable.

I didn't go down the Lightroom path, but some of the reading I've done indicates that some of what is in ACR is shared code from the developer module in Lightroom. Hence my confused reference. So which controls did you use in lightroom to lighten the shadows? I'm presuming either Fill or or a curves-based contrast control. #9991354

Aimee C. Eisaman February 20, 2012

I think this is such a cool capture and you will have to give it a title that has something to do with a wife yelling at her husband about something. I agree it needed a bit of lightening, but could it have been just on the birds??? I'm seeing a slight bit of haloing (is that a word?) on your lightened one. :~) #9991737

Anthony L. Mancuso February 20, 2012

Awesome shot Jeff! I'd love to get some close ups of some birds of prey. I think the edit works well and I would just consider a tighter crop. #9993108

Jeff E Jensen February 20, 2012

Yeah, I'm not sure what he did. He was there first and all three of the other birds had something to say to him when they came in.

Stephen - I used the fill tool and the adjustment brush on this one.

Aimee - I'm not seeing the halo, but I'm on my laptop. I'll have to take a look at it when I get home later this week.

Tony, you should just hop on a plane and come out my way, we'll find you some birds to shoot :o)
I'll play with the crop a bit when I get home. I'm not sure if there is enough detail to support a tighter crop, I'll have to see. #9993150

Sue C. Cole February 20, 2012

Jeff, these are amazing animals. We have a guided river rafting company here, that people take just to watch these creatures. They can range from sighting of one to 400 between November and February. A friend and I were invited last year down this guided tour and it was out of this world. I will post some pictures. I do believe if I remember the Male is the one yelling, he is trying to smooth talk the lady into courtship:) They are not easy to catch a good shot, I think you did good! #9993229

Jeff E Jensen February 21, 2012

Thank you, Sue. You are right, they are pretty amazing. They come through here every year from mid-January to mid-February. Some years there are only a few like this year, some years there are hundreds. It's fun to watch them when there are big groups, they are very active and don't all get along very well. They should be heading on their way soon, so hopefully next year there'll be more. #9993733

Debbie E. Payne February 21, 2012

I love it, Jeff. Just call it "Yes, Dear". It would work for whichever one is vocalizing. I like the grey background, actually. #9994410

Joan E. Hoffman February 21, 2012

Wonderful capture of these beautiful creatures. There are a couple around here, but haven't been close enough to get a shot. (and apparently have tried hard enough to do so). Love Debbie's title suggestion. #9994485

Carla Capra Anderson February 21, 2012

Great capture and edits.
#9994498

Peter W. Marks February 21, 2012

Just 20 miles north of us on the Mississippi river and Illiois river between Alton IL and Grafton IL the bald eagles arrive in December and stay till March. It is the second greatest accumulation of these birds in the USA.
It is easy enough to get a few shots but it needs those long lenses that Jeff has; 800mm multiplied by his x1.4 teleconverter = 1120mm so my 200mm zoom just won't hack it.
Nice work Jeff. #9995099

Jeff E Jensen February 21, 2012

Thanks, everyone!

I think the grey sky is a result of the junk that builds up in the valley air during the winter. It can get pretty nasty till a storm comes through and cleans it out. It was actually a pretty clear day, but this shot puts the background pretty near the horizon where the junk is most concentrated. #9995130

Dale Hardin February 21, 2012

Very nice composition and timed catch Jeff. Your title is perfect and Debbie's would be great also.

I prefer the first shot as the edit washed out lots of detail and took most of the color out of the sky. I know lots of members pooh-pooh the shadows/highlights tool but when used selectively, the algorithms work wonders. #9995249

Rita K. Connell level-classic February 22, 2012

what a great shot, I really like what the edit did to it. that must be pretty cool to know that they will come every year. they are such beautiful birds. we actually had a pair here last summer but the left when their babies (2) could fly.

get shot! #9996808

Jeff E Jensen February 23, 2012

Here's one more re-work. #9998507

Aimee C. Eisaman February 24, 2012

Looks good! :~) #9999469

Jeff E Jensen February 24, 2012

Thanks, Aimee! #9999511

Sue C. Cole February 24, 2012

Yes it does, but than again so did the original:-) #9999621

Rita K. Connell level-classic February 24, 2012

I second that...looks great! #9999963

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