Nesting Bald Eagles, Florida

I love New York, but Florida sure has its fair share of swagger.  Going from a frosty 25 degrees to shorts and a t-shirt was well worth the price of airfare alone.  In between visits with family I managed to squeeze in a sunrise bird shoot.  Just outside of Fort DeSoto State Park, Sue and I found these nesting Bald Eagles.  I used a 400mm lens mounted on a tripod.  Aperture was at f5.6, Shutter at 1/3200, ISO at 640. While New York has an incredible variety of avian life, Bald Eagle sightings are not too common.  Watching this male and female build their nest was one of the highlights from the trip. 

Comments

[Margaret]

Wow! What a wonderful capture, I can see why it was a highlight of the trip!

[Carrie]

Awesome shots Chris!

[Jonathan]

Great shot Chris!

[cathy]

As if a flying or perched eagle isn't beautiful or interesting enough . . . These photos are extra dynamic, with the nesting instinct captured. Awesome!! And where does that guy get his nails done? They're beautiful.

I notice that all of the nest in the foreground, and the foliage behind the sitting eagle are sharp. How much depth of field does f5.6 allow usually allow? Also, did you use auto-focus-continuous mode?

[Chris]

Thanks for the comments. Cathy, at f5.6 I get enough depth of field to keep both wings of the bird in sharp focus. At f2.8, this would not be the case. I use autofocus in AI Servo mode which allows me to track a moving subject. I also used a fast burst mode around 6.5 fps. If you have any other questions, I'll be happy to answer.

[Marc & Bethany]

Hey bro, I was sorry I missed out on the Bald Eagles when you and Sue were herel but we spotted another large Bald Eagle in front of the lake by our apt this past week. I've found where he lives on the nature preserve behind the lake. I'll take you there to check out the nest next time you guys are in town. Quite spectactular! We miss you.