How to Photograph a Bald Eagle!

     First, find a Bald Eagle....this was supposed to be funny, it's a wildlife joke, so now would be the appropriate time to smile.  Finding a Bald Eagle is actually much easier than it used to be, thanks to conservation laws and poison pesticides being illegal in the United States.  It made sense at the time to get rid of these pesticides and save our national symbol, at least to some people.  Depending on where you live, a Bald Eagle may be closer than you think.  I can't count the number of times in the last seven years that people have stopped to ask me what I was photographing, when all they had to do was open their eyes, and mind, and see for themselves the Eagle in the tree.  

     Yesterday, St. Valentine's Day, Deb and I were on the way to Cody for lunch at the Irma.  Rocky Mountain Oysters and a barbecued, bacon cheeseburger; the best Wyoming has to offer anywhere.  It was morning and I could see the end of the Wind River Canyon in the distance, when an upward glance revealed my nemesis sitting on a twisted branch of a juniper, dangling from far above the road on the cliff side.  I slid the truck to the graveled roadside and asked her if she saw him.  She said, "Who?"  I hollered, "A Bald Eagle" and bailed out the door just in time to see a huge truck coming my way fast.  I unzipped my pack, tried not to panic, and grabbed the big camera with the big white lens, and hoofed it around our rig just as a few trucks barreling home for the weekend flew past with a whirl of cold wind.  I peaked around our SUV for more traffic and then crossed the roadway; I knew that the only way to get a good shot would have to be from the other side, the narrow side with the guardrail on the river side. 

     Crossing the canyon highway, I walked toward my Bald Eagle in the distance, and took a few early shots.  I reset the ISO to 500, and the camera was in shutter-priority, as it should always be for wildlife and sports photography, or as it turns out children.  Cars and trucks were flying by me at 70 miles per hour, six or seven feet away, from my backside where I couldn't see them coming.  I tried to calm my worst fears, and used the adrenaline to focus on my beautiful Bald Eagle.  I wore an old red shirt yesterday morning, which turned out to be a very good choice, as now the trucks and cars could see me and hopefully avoid me.  But, during all this I was shooting pictures while leaning on the guardrail! 

     Moving closer to the Eagle in question, some people slowed down a little to see what the nut with the camera was photographing, the blue rigs from slum burger would have scared a normal person, I kept my attention on my white-headed friend.  With all the racket traffic and noise so very close to me, I never did panic even once, if I would have then I would have gotten nothing. 

     And this is really the secret to photographing animals in the wild....try and remain clam....I mean calm.  It may help at times to be a clam, because I have been in a tree, perched on a wall trying to keep my balance, and freezing my tookis off at twenty below, and running down the Wind River Canyon chasing Bighorn Sheep with loads of equipment; you can panic and get nothing, or try and remain calm, your choice: It does take years of practice to not panic when that big buck jumps out from the trees, and I have seen full grown men go to pieces when the big one jumps out, and miss something they've dreamed about their entire lives.  As I kept the image stabilization on my Eagle, it was obvious that he had had enough already, and so did I.  As he took to the air, I shot my burst; eight frames and he was gone in one second, the big rigs still flying by me less than seven feet away!  

     I made it back to our SUV, and my wife was watching me the whole time.  Finding out later I'd shot 136 frames, I was excited to see if my "swallow my fears" photography had paid off.  It was long after midnight when I finally got to bed; I'd also printed several pictures of my Bald Eagle before falling asleep.  But my favorite frame from the shoot also looked good in black and white; it gave him a menacing look, as Deb said.  

     This RAW file was worked initially in Canon's Digital Photo Professional, then moved to Adobe Lightroom 5 for the final work.  I used the smart sharpen button for faces and the high contrast black and white for the ultimate black, then back to DPP for a tone adjustment to lighten the overall effect.  The color version was worked the same, just not black and white.  But which is better?  The black and white or the color?  It's a personal and artistic choice....so here are both the pictures from the St. Valentine's Day Bald Eagle shoot.  Which do you like........?
Bald Eagle, a black & white, Wind River Canyon, WyomingA Bald Eagle photographed in the Wind River Canyon, Wyoming, by Michael John Balog - HogbatsPhotography.com

Bald Eagle, Valentine's Day, Wind River Canyon, WyomingA Bald Eagle photographed in the Wind River Canyon, Wyoming, by Michael John Balog - HogbatsPhotography.com