Eagles on carcass (not for the squeamish)

[stevefossimages]

As you can see, these birds were shot over the carcass of a deer. Not such a pretty sight, but there's no catch and release in nature.

First, a pretty one.
Canon 20D, Canon 100-400L Image Stabilizer, iso200, 1/80 sec, f7.1, 400mm (560mm when 20D conversion factor added), handheld.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/tight-left.jpg

The rest with Canon 1D MarkII, Canon 400L f2.8 non I.S., Canon 1.4 teleconverter for total of 560mm (728mm when MarkII conversion factor included), all at iso200 from tripod.

1/1000 sec, f4
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/one-hovers-over.jpg

1/800 sec, f4
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/attack-from-right80.jpg

1/640 sec, f4
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/full-of-birds80.jpg

1/1000, f4
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/juvie-attacks.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/pulls-carcass.jpg

[crazyea]

I really love these images, but I think you could darken them up a bit (Contrast? or Brightness? Not sure).

Again excellent captures.....#5 is my favorite.

[Blue Deuce]

These are great. Love the eagles doing what animals do in the wild shots. And what a convocation in #4. Your'e right about squeamish part. I dont think I will be able to show these to my wife.

[rickydiver]

I think these shots are superb:D Great capture. Was the deer set up ie did you place it there to get the shot or was this done in the wild? Is that a Goldie coming in on shot 5? If so it looks massive even compared to the Bald Eagles. Great series Steve thanks for sharing
Cheers Ricky

[Blue Deuce]

Is that a Goldie coming in on shot 5? If so it looks massive even compared to the Bald Eagles.

The "Goldie" is a juvenile Bald eagle probably between 1 and 2 years old. The juveniles actually appear larger then adults having longer tail and wing feathers.

[ngannet]

Man, those are wild captures! Very nice. Shows the huge size of these impressive raptors. 4, 5 and 6 are my favorites.

[Grizz]

Great catch! Gotta love nature. :)

[Gary Fairhead]

An excellent series here showing the opportunistic side of this large bird. Very well presented.

[rickydiver]

Cheers Blue thanks for that I was not aware the Younger birds looked larger:D
Cheer Ricky

[slacker]

Wow! Thanks for sharing.

[RonnF]

Incredible shots, Steve. When my boys were teenagers, they used to fight over pizza like that. These poses are so well chosen, they really illustrate the situation. Thanks for posting the EXIF and so many images. What time span do the images cover(hours?) and how many images did you capture? Images #1,#3,#4 & #5 are my favorites but I really like them all.

Ron

[JMAS]

Fantastic animals.

Great job at catching this series!

[stevefossimages]

Thanks all. These images were shot over a carcass we placed there on a black spruce/tamarack bog near Ely, but that was the extent of our creation of the scene. The deer was road kill, the animals completely wild and not habitually fed by humans. We shot from cover 75 yards away. The eagles were shot over the course of about three hours on one afternoon with pretty heavy overcast (actually very nice light for eagles, with the exposure challenges they represent). And there was enough shutter speed at iso200 for stopping the action sharply from a tripod with no panning.

The wolves I posted in a separate thread were shot from the same setup.

[jr#8]

Stunning shots. #5 for me also.

[LabDan]

Amazing shots , congratulation
Would you please send those birds over my place :lol:

[Blackburnian]

That's It!

You must send me a PM with your set up and plan so I can have the same fun as you!

Absolutelt stunning and creative.

Well done Steve!

[jd9600]

Awsome shots

[busbyea]

What a flurry of activity. Must be awesome to see so many birds as Majestic as these eagles in one spot; fighting for picking rights. Would love to see one..:cry:
Nicely done.

[zenden]

Excellent series Steve,
As you can see, these birds were shot over the carcass of a deer. Not such a pretty sight, but there's no catch and release in nature.

First, a pretty one.
Canon 20D, Canon 100-400L Image Stabilizer, iso200, 1/80 sec, f7.1, 400mm (560mm when 20D conversion factor added), handheld.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/tight-left.jpg

The rest with Canon 1D MarkII, Canon 400L f2.8 non I.S., Canon 1.4 teleconverter for total of 560mm (728mm when MarkII conversion factor included), all at iso200 from tripod.

1/1000 sec, f4
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/one-hovers-over.jpg

1/800 sec, f4
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/attack-from-right80.jpg

1/640 sec, f4
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/full-of-birds80.jpg

1/1000, f4
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/juvie-attacks.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/stfcatfish/pulls-carcass.jpg

[ZipDude66]

I like the first and last but the others are OOF, over exposed, beaks and legs over saturated and over done. Just being honest.

Zip

[Jamey S.]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing these!

[Dragonfli Spirit]

What beautiful pictures of a truly beautiful bird.
Well done - I wish I could get shots liket that :)

Donna

[stevefossimages]

Zip, honesty is a welcome thing. In my opinion.

[sam walker]

Fantastic angles on these guys.You must have been whipped when you-they were done.
Sam

[Mills]

Interesting series. Well done. I don't think I have ever seen that many at one time.

[stevefossimages]

Sam, I WAS whipped when it was over. Not a lot of physical labor, but it's amazing what adrenaline can do.

Mills, we had as many as seven eagles on/around the carcass at once.

[Airedale1]

Your heart must have been pounding while watching this scene. I know mine woukd have been and another vote for #5. It is an amazing image.

[stevefossimages]

Airedale, my heart MAY have been pounding while it was all going on, but I was too busy to notice. Kind of like being in combat, that focus and attention drives everything else out. But I'll tell you, when it was all over I shook like a scared little kid. It was hard to connect with the high fives after the thing was finished, we were so pumped.

It was kind of interesting, three shooters that close together. Our burst rates all seemed to kick in at the same instant when things would intensify over the carcass. Hard to believe the eagles didn't hear three Canons firing away at 8.5 fps.

[pup]

fantastic images steve... i have never seen so many eagles together

[Alan B]

Oh wow, awesome action shots :cool:

[phrogg]

Fantastic shots Steve. Thanks for posting and sharing.
Dick