DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images
This image is not part of a public portfolio.
Staring Contest - Eagle vs Photographer
Staring Contest - Eagle vs Photographer
SoulMan1978


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Free Study 2008-06 (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Sony DSLR-A100
Lens: Sony 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6
Location: Long Sutton Wildlife Park
Date: Jun 1, 2008
Aperture: 5.6
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/125 secs
Galleries: Nature, Birds
Date Uploaded: Jun 4, 2008

 This is Liberty, the centrepiece (as it were), of the collection at Long Sutton Wildlife Park. This was a lucky capture - I was photographing some owls next to Liberty, when I looked up and caught him looking straight at me. I quickly fired off shots for about 20 secs before he looked away.

This is only the second time (excepting a 24 hour speed challenge) that I've shot a challenge entry on the first day - and on a free study to boot. I've had 29 days to edit this, re-edit this, curse myself I didn't shot a better shot in the first place, etc etc. i'm still not happy with it, wish i had more DOF in my original, but as you can imagine, I didn't really get time to fiddle with my settings.

A special thanks to Andi Ecce Signum for his editing suggestions in this shot. If you like this shot, why not donate some money to the fund he's set up in memory of his daughter here. Alternatively, why not visit your local zoo/wildife park/animal sanctuary, and support it financially or otherwise. Many of the less "commercial" zoos carry out lots of important conservation work on very small budgets, and contain lots of photogenic animals :-)

I'm hoping the dinging I might take for the technical flaws in this shot will be outweighed by the subject matter :-)

Oh and, for the record, I won the staring contest :-)

Statistics
Place: 12 out of 473
Avg (all users): 6.8630
Avg (commenters): 7.2308
Avg (participants): 6.7523
Avg (non-participants): 7.1892
Views since voting: 3912
Views during voting: 257
Votes: 146
Comments: 16
Favorites: 2 (view)

Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM
 08/11/2009 12:34:44 PM
Love the attitude portrayed here.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/15/2008 08:36:29 AM
I love the contrasts and colors of the eagle, great detail and tones. Love the Tack sharpness around the eyes and beak. Love it!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Panasonic DMC-FZ30
 07/08/2008 04:24:13 PM
Just stunning
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 07/07/2008 10:52:55 PM
Very good detail in the eyes.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D810
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR
 07/06/2008 11:34:20 AM
wonderful shot, killer stare , 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L IS USM
 07/05/2008 11:48:37 AM
haha, i think he may win! awesome colors and tack sharp
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D40X
Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR
 07/05/2008 07:48:49 AM
terrific detail - great capture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D800
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
 07/04/2008 06:09:41 AM
it really is a staredown...who won? nice and clear, good eye contact
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus E-500 EVOLT
Olympus 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 Zuiko Digital
 07/02/2008 05:14:53 PM
Beautiful colour, great detail. Lovely shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro 1:2 for Canon
 07/02/2008 01:39:51 PM
Great shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-300D Rebel
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
 07/02/2008 11:05:47 AM
Beautiful soft glow on the feathers, this really sets of his eyes and beak, love the tight crop.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300
Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED
 07/01/2008 10:46:09 PM
great shot, but the processing seems a little heavy
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7200
Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G
 07/01/2008 07:51:37 PM
Fantastic detail.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D80
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 07/01/2008 01:31:02 PM
Fantastic detail...love this shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-30D
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM
 07/01/2008 11:15:03 AM
Amazing capture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM
 07/01/2008 10:18:39 AM
Incredible detail...will do well in this challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Theme: Classic / System / Light / Dark
Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2026 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 10/02/2026 07:12:30 PM EDT.