Eagle Photos: The Lessons Continue

Dale Matson

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This year began slowly, with photograph opportunities for mostly juvenile Bald Eagles and lately has ramped up for many chances to photograph the mature Bald Eagles.

This is my third year attempting to improve on my bird skills. Wildlife is so much more involved and difficult than landscape photography. Both require patience and adequate preparation. Being a former fisherman, I know how to wait. Even though my wildlife lens amounts to 560mm, it is almost always set at the maximum for eagles. Eagles in the wild have a limited comfort zone. I am usually taking photos as I slowly approach the birds because it is only a matter of time before they fly away. Occasionally, they will let you get right under a tree in which they are perched.

I have found that shutter priority is my best camera setting. It is great to have image stabilization in my Sony A7R3 and in my Sony 100-400 GM lens (I use a 1.4X teleconverter also). I have never had the opportunity nor have I seen the need for a tripod for eagles.

Morning seems to be the time they are most active. The problem with long lenses is that most are not good in the low morning light. Using a f 2.8 long lens means having lots of money and using a tripod. They are not very portable. Much of the process is learning where eagles like to go. I find living in Fresno CA that Millerton Lake and Eastman Lake are convenient places to look. Both lakes are home to both resident pairs of eagles and seasonal migration visitors. After three years, I am still learning their favorite spots. Where are the Coots? There you may find an eagle. They also like peninsulas, dead trees and lakeshores with lots of boulders.

This year I have used my 10X50 binoculars much more than in the past. My big lens is like a spotting scope but…it uses battery life. Boat ramps are great places to drive down to and simply scan the shoreline for birds.

This year I have become more discerning about what is acceptable. Many of my shots have tree branches covering a portion of the eagles but the head, eyes and beak must not be obstructed. The pose is important also. I really like the shots where the bird is launching off the branch to fly away.

I slow the shutter speed down for birds that are perched so there is as much light and as low an ISO as possible. I move around the tress to expose as much as possible of the bird in the branches at the risk of the bird flying away. Sometimes getting closer means more of the bird being covered by branches. A bird even in bright sunlight may have the head in the wrong position creating shade over the eyes. Yesterday I had 200 photographs of a pair of perched eagles. When I reviewed the photographs, there were only a few where both birds had a good head position and good lighting on the eyes. They eventually both flew away. Both the birds and I had been there long enough. I think they know me when I show up or when I am sitting there and they show up. What a joy it is for me.

Nictitating Membrane

Golden Eagle

Golden Over Millerton Lake