ingridtaylar's photostream  

This sub-adult Bald Eagle landed in front of me at the Des Moines marina, perched on a totem pole, then held this feather for a few seconds. (I believe the prey was a gull, but it was way-long gone before the eagle flew into my air space.)

I was shooting into a backlit, white sky, which challenged my exposure aptitude. The eagle and crows were pretty much silhouetted against the brightness. I played around with multiple configurations to avoid the clipped highlights. On this shot, I spot-metered on the eagle, which of course, blows out the sky, added -0.3EV, but I didn't get it exactly right. There was one other photographer standing near me, complaining that his photos were all in silhouette. He was using matrix metering on his Canon, but it didn't seem like he was playing at all with the EV. For now, I've decided to add backlit-eagle to my Bird Noir series.

My wildlife photog friends ... any suggestions on how you would have exposed this scene?

Today, I had two classic photographic situations and obstacles. First, a young Bald Eagle landed right in front of me with what was left of his lunch. But, the only angle from which I could photograph him was shooting straight into the backlit white sky of an overcast day. I was on a marina pier and the eagle was perched over the water.

Then, as I was walking under this tree, I heard the characteristic knocking of a woodpecker, followed by a few big wood chips falling on my head. This Pileated Woodpecker was excavating a big hole (nesting cavity??) above me. But, the only angle I could get was either shooting through layers of branches (as I did here) ... or shooting him in total silhouette.

I love these moments, unexpected and amazing to witness, even if the photos illustrate the real-world picture challenges. :)

Title taken from a line in the Joyce Kilmer poem, Trees ("I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree.")

This was one of the last lingering Bald Eagles (juvenile, Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) around the Rockport and Concrete area of the Skagit River. We drove up there a month ago in a downpour and saw tons of eagles dragging salmon carcasses from the river, but the light was way too low for workable photos (with my gear, that is).

This time, plenty of light, very few eagles. They've moved on from the salmon spawning grounds. We checked this year's eagle counts at the Interpretive Center and this season, the highest counts were the weekend of December 23.

Taken just outside the Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center, perched above the Skagit River.

I went against my better judgment, and stopped on Fir Island (Skagit County, Washington) on our way south to Seattle this past week. It's the last week of hunting season, and I should have known better. I try to avoid hunted areas because of the helplessness I feel -- hard-wired as I am to rescue injured animals.

In other words, what started as a bucolic and lovely photo op, unfortunately, ended with a lot of disruption. We stuck around until after shooting hours, to make sure the injured geese weren't left behind.

This photo expresses a happy moment -- when we first caught a glimpse of this alabaster field, filled with the murmurs of thousands of Snow Geese. It was my first glimpse of them this season.

I will revisit Fir Island some sunny day after the shooting season ends (today) ... to reprogram my brain for the better. :)

This pigeon flew into frame as I was shooting a vertical line of birds on the wire overhead.

Tweaks: cropping, levels, sharpness and slight straightening.