Tag: Eagle Photography

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Photo of the Month November 2023

Tom and I celebrate great images from workshop participants by selecting a Photo of the Month. For November we chose an image taken on our Chilkat Eagles Workshop. The image was taken by Marni Nagy on a snowy day on the Chilkat River in Alaska. Marni’s creativity extends to her business as well. Check out Capturing Couture to see her beautiful, custom camera straps. Perfect item for the Holidays!

Congratulations to November 2023 ‘s featured photographer – Marni Nagy

Marni on the edge of the Chilkat River

The Story… 

I was off to the side. I got a different angle than everyone else. One of the eagles, the one I call Mohawk, was the aggressor all week. Based on her size, I think she was a female. She was often the one going after other eagles. I have the before and after sequence from this image. The eagle who had the fish flipped over and had it’s back on the ground to get it’s talons in the air.

I didn’t realize that eagles were scavengers. Eagles would grab a salmon and bring it out of the river and then another eagle would come in and take it. There were plenty of fish to go around in the river.

I was working on protecting my ISO. This was my biggest learning from the workshop. Tom and I discussed exposure compensation vs ISO. He recommended giving up exposure compensation to have a lower ISO.

Having a day of snow was just magical. Even the grasses became pictures.

Photo of the Month – Eagle Dance on the Chilkat River

EXIF Data:

Camera: Nikon D850

Lens: Sigma 150-600 mm at 600 mm

Aperture: f6.3

Shutter: 1/2500 sec

ISO: 1100

Mode: Manual, auto ISO

Exposure Comp +.3

Mature Bald Eagle in Flight

About Photographing in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve

I had never been to Alaska. Only to Colorado. I feel like the vistas in Alaska were much grander than in Colorado. When the fog rolled in I could really get the layers with the trees. The mountains were stunning. I turned my landscape into a black and white image. There were so many layers of majesty.

The number of eagles made it very easy to find a photo. The difficulty was to find a picture that showed the quantity of eagles. I wish I had gotten a better shot of just how many eagles were sitting there. It was just amazing.

Across the scenic Chilkat River

Marni’s Tips for Photographing Eagles

Tip 1

Go to the right place. At Chilkat the eagles were all right there.

Tip 2

You needed to have patience. Some of the groups would leave after 20 minutes because there were no eagles. The eagles would always show up if you waited long enough.

Tip 3

I was at 600mm most of the time. Bring a long enough lens.

Tip 4

Try using manual mode, with auto ISO for wildlife. I had not shot in manual before. I will use this again. I used the group area tracking in the D850 and liked the results.

On Marni’s Horizon:

Bosque

Iceland

Northern Lights

Marni and new photo friends

Tom and Cree are headed to Bosque for the last 2 workshops of the year. Sandhill cranes fly through vibrant New Mexico skies as they land on the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge. For the last two days of the trip we photograph soft hues of pink and blue over the dramatic dunes at White Sands National Park. Keep an eye on Facebook and Instagram for posts.

The Northern Lights have been spectacular in Fairbanks this fall. Get in on the action on our Northern Lights and Iditarod Workshop in March 2024. Three spaces available. Click here to learn more.

Thanks for following our posts!

Tom and Cree

www.tombolphotoworkshops.com

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Photo of the Month – November 2019

Tom and I want to celebrate the great images being created on our workshops by posting a photograph each month from one of our workshops that best captures the environment or people of that location.

Congratulations to November’s photographer – Lee Brissey

 

Chilkat Workshop 2019
Chilkat Workshop 2019

The Story:

On our second day we were photographing a wide variety of bald eagles feeding on chum salmon along the gravel bar of the Chilkat river. While we all captured many interesting images of feeding and bird behavior, this one immediately caught my attention as a poignant image of an instant in time. The eagle talons holding down the spent-out chum salmon symbolized the power of predator. While it happened in an instant flip, I was certain that predator and prey connected in that ageless migration ritual. It’s impossible to look at that image and not get a bit reflective about the circle of life.

FLB_5017

The Location: 

The Chilkat River landscape was exceptional with distant mountains accentuated by fresh snow and wonderful cloud/mist patterns providing an ever-changing backdrop to the scene. When the sun peaked out we had beautiful low-angle back-lighting to illuminate wings of eagles in flight and birds resting on logs and in perches along the riverbank. But in addition to the sights, the continuous sounds of the river burbling by and the endless cries of seagulls and calls of eagles made the place come alive.

Chilkat Workshop 2019
Lee (right) and his photo friend Dennis Garrood (left)

The Data: Nikon D850, 200-500 mm lens 1/1600 at f5.6 ISO 900 Manual mode

Photo Tip from the Photographer: 

The usual advice about being patient and watchful is not new. Some of my best images came out of scenes that emerged without warning and were gone in a flash. I was just lucky. And I learned again to pay attention to the changing light conditions and adjust accordingly.  Periodically step back and adjust to the scene by rechecking whether settings/histogram are appropriate to the conditions.  I learned some of this the hard way again this year.

On the Horizon:

  • Costa Rica in April
  • Bosque del Apache & White Sands in New Mexico

 

To learn about the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and Haliaeetus leucocephalus click here