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Eagles at Mississippi
- Thread starter jeminijoseph
- Start date
jeminijoseph
Veteran Member
I guess this baby is around 3-4 years old?
Looks like they are coming. This week it's cold. I really hope by the weekend the river will be fozen and there will be lot more birds around.
Your first shot is interesting. I never saw that many eagles flying together in a group.
Thanks
Jemini Joseph
http://www.wildbirdimages.com
Looks like they are coming. This week it's cold. I really hope by the weekend the river will be fozen and there will be lot more birds around.
Your first shot is interesting. I never saw that many eagles flying together in a group.
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Thanks
Jemini Joseph
http://www.wildbirdimages.com
jeminijoseph
Veteran Member
Thanks for the info Sam. We already have the link.
I'm planning to to go this weekend too. But Burlington is little too far me. How's the place? Is it easy to get closer to eagles than LeClaire or Davenport? (Dam 14 and 15). I assume you are going to dam 16. RIght?
Thanks
Jemini Joseph
http://www.wildbirdimages.com
I'm planning to to go this weekend too. But Burlington is little too far me. How's the place? Is it easy to get closer to eagles than LeClaire or Davenport? (Dam 14 and 15). I assume you are going to dam 16. RIght?
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Thanks
Jemini Joseph
http://www.wildbirdimages.com
Ron Hodgson
Veteran Member
Had a good day today.... here is just a small sample...... the last one is my favorite.
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Ron
See some of my stuff at http://ronhodgson.net/ Not Dial-up friendly, so be patient.
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Ron
See some of my stuff at http://ronhodgson.net/ Not Dial-up friendly, so be patient.
jeminijoseph
Veteran Member
Wow!!. I hope to get a series like this one day
The pictures 2-5. Are they part of one series? Great series. Love the 4th one
Are these crops or you got them at 650mm (assuming you are using Mark III and 500mm).
Where exactly did you find them this close? Dam 14 or 15? Can you please tell us? based on the temperature I'm all set to go next weekend as long as there's no snow storm. Planning to be around 14 and 15...
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Thanks
Jemini Joseph
http://www.wildbirdimages.com
The pictures 2-5. Are they part of one series? Great series. Love the 4th one
Are these crops or you got them at 650mm (assuming you are using Mark III and 500mm).
Where exactly did you find them this close? Dam 14 or 15? Can you please tell us? based on the temperature I'm all set to go next weekend as long as there's no snow storm. Planning to be around 14 and 15...
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Thanks
Jemini Joseph
http://www.wildbirdimages.com
Ron Hodgson
Veteran Member
You will..... patience
Nope, they are all individual shots
I pretty much crop everything at least a little to make them look better. Yep MK III and the 500.
These were at 14. I've made myself a personal vow, to not go there before 2 pm. If figure there's no point in fighting the angle of the sun.
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Ron
See some of my stuff at http://ronhodgson.net/ Not Dial-up friendly, so be patient.
jeminijoseph
Veteran Member
Hmm. I will
Still great
I find if I get final image around 6MP there will be enough sharpness to print even up to 10X15".
True. So where would you go if you can be there in the monring? The only place I know is at the dam 15 at the entrance of the military base. But the water is too low and I never saw a fishing scene there. I usually cross the dam coming from 14. The place I'm talking about is right after crossoing the river through the dam. I could not find any other better place.
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Thanks
Jemini Joseph
http://www.wildbirdimages.com
Trippster
Well-known member
Regarding the statement not to shoot at dam 14 until 2PM because of the lighting, where is the best place to shoot in the morning then?
Is the river frozen yet?
I am driving up from KY, so if there is only one afternoon for good lighting, I will expend my plans.
Thanks
Is the river frozen yet?
I am driving up from KY, so if there is only one afternoon for good lighting, I will expend my plans.
Thanks
Hmm. I will
Still great
I find if I get final image around 6MP there will be enough sharpness to print even up to 10X15".
True. So where would you go if you can be there in the monring? The only place I know is at the dam 15 at the entrance of the military base. But the water is too low and I never saw a fishing scene there. I usually cross the dam coming from 14. The place I'm talking about is right after crossoing the river through the dam. I could not find any other better place.
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Thanks
Jemini Joseph
http://www.wildbirdimages.com
Ron Hodgson
Veteran Member
I live 22 miles away from 14, so it's not an issue for me.
But here's a couple of alternates.
13 (Fulton Il) in the morning for flight shots., then 14 in the afternoon.
Or
Sunset Marina (Rock Island) in the morning and 14 in the afternoon. I have not checked out the marina yet this year, so can't vouch for the number of Eagles.
Or, if you're really up for some driving
18 in the morning (Illinois side), and then 14 in the afternoon.
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Ron
See some of my stuff at http://ronhodgson.net/ Not Dial-up friendly, so be patient.
Sam Voelkel
Leading Member
Burlington is #18. I have never been further North than Burlington, so I have no info on those.
Burlington is great for flyover shots. There is a large wooded area behind the visitor's area where eagles perch to eat their catch, so they fly directly over the visitor's area to get to those trees. The visitor's area is on the Illinois side of the river, which is the East side of the river. Shooting is best in the morning and up to about 2:00 PM when the sun starts to get in your face.
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Sam Voelkel
Burlington is great for flyover shots. There is a large wooded area behind the visitor's area where eagles perch to eat their catch, so they fly directly over the visitor's area to get to those trees. The visitor's area is on the Illinois side of the river, which is the East side of the river. Shooting is best in the morning and up to about 2:00 PM when the sun starts to get in your face.
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Sam Voelkel
Trippster
Well-known member
You da man! Thanks for this great insight and info!
Sunset Marina (Rock Island) in the morning and 14 in the afternoon. I have not checked out the marina yet this year, so can't vouch for the number of Eagles.
Or, if you're really up for some driving
18 in the morning (Illinois side), and then 14 in the afternoon.
--
Ron
See some of my stuff at http://ronhodgson.net/ Not Dial-up friendly, so be patient.
mmullen
Veteran Member
Great eagle shots! It doesn't look like you are TOO far out of practice but I have seen your spectacular shots from previous years.
Your previous shots inspired me to try my hand on our local eagles (Skagit River in WA) but my longest lens is 300mm so I mounted it to a 2X converter and had a go. I was surprised with how well the 7D could focus in servo mode with the 2X converter. Unfortunately, the area is surrounded by mountains so the direct light is limited to the mid-day hours and the area is often rainy or has heavy over-cast. Fortunately I was able to make it up river on a day with only partial overcast. The variable lighting was difficult to deal with but I managed to get a decent number of keepers. here are a few:
Hopefully the weather will clear and I can give it another go.
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Mike Mullen
jeminijoseph
Veteran Member
Ron
Which place is better for fishing shots in the morning? Looks like both places are pretty much same distance from Le Claire
I tried to find the sunset marina last time and I could not locate a place with lots of eagles. Is it just below the bridge on 67?
How about Fulton? Is the just below the bridge/dam on 136?
Thanks
Jemini Joseph
http://www.wildbirdimages.com
Which place is better for fishing shots in the morning? Looks like both places are pretty much same distance from Le Claire
I tried to find the sunset marina last time and I could not locate a place with lots of eagles. Is it just below the bridge on 67?
How about Fulton? Is the just below the bridge/dam on 136?
--I live 22 miles away from 14, so it's not an issue for me.
But here's a couple of alternates.
13 (Fulton Il) in the morning for flight shots., then 14 in the afternoon.
Or
Sunset Marina (Rock Island) in the morning and 14 in the afternoon. I have not checked out the marina yet this year, so can't vouch for the number of Eagles.
Or, if you're really up for some driving
18 in the morning (Illinois side), and then 14 in the afternoon.
--
Ron
See some of my stuff at http://ronhodgson.net/ Not Dial-up friendly, so be patient.
Thanks
Jemini Joseph
http://www.wildbirdimages.com
jeminijoseph
Veteran Member
Coming from North looks like 18 little far for me. I might try to get there. But not sure. Thanks for the info.
Thanks
Jemini Joseph
http://www.wildbirdimages.com
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Thanks
Jemini Joseph
http://www.wildbirdimages.com
Great shots and great information. I would love to get out this winter and give this a try but based on all the pictures from 400mm and 500 mm lenses am I fooling myself to think that I could get any decent eagle pictures with a 200 mm on a 40D with a 1.4 extender?
Don
Don
mothman13
Leading Member
Don,
You can go to my website and see field of view comparisons for 300, 400, 500 and 600mm lenses at varying subject distances of 100, 150, 200 and 300 feet, for a Blue Jay, a Mallard and an Osprey. These are for Nikon's APS sensor (1.5 factor), so your system will have a little more reach (1.6 factor), but the comparisons are still valid.
http://www.texasmothman.com/tutorials/birding/birding.asp
The white area shows the entire resulting picture for your chosen parameters (3888 x 2592 pixels with your Canon 40D). By choosing the Osprey, which I put at a wingspan of about 6 feet for these examples, you'll get a pretty good idea of how much of your picture an eagle would occupy.
I grew up in Bettendorf, IA, but live in Texas now. I just sent a link of this thread to my Dad and one of my brothers that still live there. Hope they get out and get some shots.
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Mothman13
http://www.texasmothman.com
http://www.pbase.com/mothman13
Ron Hodgson
Veteran Member
Neither place is really good for fishing shots. I would pick Fulton over Sunset. To get to 13 go North out of Fulton Il,on rt 84. Don't remember how many miles, but there's a sign.
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Ron
See some of my stuff at http://ronhodgson.net/ Not Dial-up friendly, so be patient.
Ron Hodgson
Veteran Member
My first Eagle shots were with a 300...... so yes it can be done
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Ron
See some of my stuff at http://ronhodgson.net/ Not Dial-up friendly, so be patient.
Ron Hodgson
Veteran Member
Nice..... I really like the first one.
--
Ron
See some of my stuff at http://ronhodgson.net/ Not Dial-up friendly, so be patient.
--
Ron
See some of my stuff at http://ronhodgson.net/ Not Dial-up friendly, so be patient.
Mothman,
Thanks for the info and link. That was very helpfull. It looks like I might be able to get by with my setup if they come in close enough. However I think I might rent something larger just to improve my chances of getting a decent shot. I rented the 100-400 for a recent trip and that worked out well. (One of the benefits of owning a Canon or Nikon!)
Thanks for the info and link. That was very helpfull. It looks like I might be able to get by with my setup if they come in close enough. However I think I might rent something larger just to improve my chances of getting a decent shot. I rented the 100-400 for a recent trip and that worked out well. (One of the benefits of owning a Canon or Nikon!)
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