Rookie needs advice.

[R.T.]

I'm really green at photography and I have a chance to take picture of my favorite bird. An American Bald Eagle. For the last two days hes been hanging around my house eating a dead carcass of some kind, the problem is it's been snowing really hard here and I've not been able to get a shot of it yet. Weather man says sunny tomorrow so I figure this might be my last chance if he comes back.

The Eagle is about 75 yards from my house and when he takes flight, he always goes to the same tree, even the same branch of the tree, about 40 to 50 feet up. I have a Canon 20D and the lens I'll be using is a 75 to 300 (older lens) but the only long lens I have right now. What mode and camera settings should I be using for a winter shot? If I can, I'll take several and use different settings, but if I only get a chance for one shot, how would you guys approach it? How close will I need to get for a good shot? Thanks!

R.T.

[Olegis]

Go out there now and meter the snow, then compensate by 1.5-2 stops in order to render it really white (the meter in the camera thinks that the snow is actually grey). Try to take some pictures with these settings and see how they come out (I guess that you have a digital SLR body, so the shots are free). When you see the eagle, shoot it as much as you can using the settings you recorder in the previous stage, use bracketing.

[RichardtheSane]

As Olegis said, test shots!

If you can meter off a neutral subject, say the (non snow covered) trunk of a tree then you will have you best referance point for an exposure.

If I were in this situation and had just one shot I would use AV mode and set the aperture at F5.6-F8 and make sure the shutter speed is over 1/500th (1/250th would do but to hand hold the lens 1/500th + is better). If you need to, adjust the ISO to keep the shutter speed up do so, a shot with more noise is better than a shot that is blurred because of camera shake!
I would shoot RAW too, this gives the latitude to correct white balance and (within reason) exposure. I would have already got an idea of what the exposure needs to be by metering of a neutral subject and I can asjust the exposure compensation accordingly.

Hope this helps

[maderito]

How close will I need to get for a good shot? Thanks!
R.T.
Assuming the eagle has a height of 1 meter and a wingspan of 2 meters...

300mm focal length lens (mounted on the 20D):
@ 45 feet the eagle's body fills the frame in portrait mode
@ 90 feet the eagle's body and wingspan fills the frame in landscape mode

shoot a yardstick (meter stick?) at 45 feet in your backyard to confirm.

[R.T.]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll try your Ideas and see what happens. It's almost 10:30am and he hasn't been back yet, sure hope he makes a showing today, it's the nicest day we've had for a long time. I'll let you know what happens and thanks again!

R.T.

[Olegis]

Try to throw a few bones / pieces of meat on the tree or something near the place the eagle usually appears - that may lure it to a place that is convenient for you to shoot. Some kind of a "bird feeder" :-)

[R.T.]

Thanks Olegis, yeah I may have to try that. It's it's about 1pm now and no sign of him yet. Oh well, there around and sooner or later I'll get a shot of one. Thanks!

R.T.

[robertwgross]

A mature bald eagle has a white head, so if you can get a dark tree behind it, that might look good. A dark blue sky behind it might also look good, but don't use a polarizer to force the issue, because you'll slow two stops with it.

An immature bald eagle has a dark head, so a light sky behind it might look good.

If you can't get the eagle to line up with the right background, then find its carcass/meal and move it so that you are lined up the way you want, especially if you can get the eagle low in a tree with you shooting level or slightly downward toward it.

Now, the money shot is when you get the adult eagle at the nest with the immature eagle.

---Bob Gross---

[R.T.]

Bob, thanks for all the good tips! It's a mature bald eagle, has the big white head. There is an eagle nest on my property, it's at the top of a huge old red pine tree, but I've not seen anything in it. I'd figure out a way to get up a near by tree to take a shot if it was occupied. lol. Thanks again!

R.T.

[robertwgross]

I know a white pine, and I know a yellow pine, but I have never heard of a red pine, so I don't know what that tree looks like.

Eagles are not small birds, so their nests tend to be large also, and they are generally near the top of the tallest tree around. That makes it difficult for the photographer to get a shot looking into the nest.

Wouldn't you love to have your own bucket truck for a photo task like that? Camouflage it to look like another tree, except that you are in the bucket.

---Bob Gross---

[R.T.]

Yeah, a bucket is what it would take for me, I was kidding about getting up in a tree on my own, I get dizzy when I stand up. lol A red pine is pretty close to a white pine but the bark has redish looking scales to it, at least I think it's close to a white. The red pines around here are the tallest trees. If you want to see one I'll try and get a pic of one? Anyway, thanks again!

R.T.

[Olegis]

R.T. - any luck yet ?

[R.T.]

R.T. - any luck yet ?
No, that dang bird never came back one time yesterday. But it's nice out again today so I'll keep looking. I'd sure like to get a picture of him for my wall. :) Thanks!

R.T.

[robertwgross]

No, that dang bird never came back one time yesterday. But it's nice out again today so I'll keep looking. I'd sure like to get a picture of him for my wall. :) Thanks!

R.T.

Turn some rabbits loose. That will bring out the eagle.

I've been trying to get more shots of a white-tailed kite, which is a member of the hawk family, and much smaller than an eagle. So, I get this mechanical wind-up mouse and turn it loose on the ground... VOILA! Here comes the kite, and snap goes the camera.

---Bob Gross---

[R.T.]

Bob,

now that's using the old noggin. Wish I had something like that, would a small child work? lol j/k, I don't have one of those either. I put some meat out there yesterday like Olegis suggested, all I had was beacon, maybe they don't like that? Oh well, you got me thinking now, maybe I can come up with something else. We got about 5" of snow on the ground so If I get a toy it will have to be on skis. lol. Thanks again!

R.T.