Just a personal announcement, I just received notice of winning the Bird category in the Windland Smith Rice International Awards sponsored by Nature’s Best Photography magazine. My winning photo will not only appear in the magazine but a large print will also be on exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC later in 2011. This is a major contest, mostly for pro, semi-pro, and advanced amateur nature photographers from around the world which typically has over 20,000 entries/year. It is indeed an honor to be recognized again in this prestigious international competition. I had the honor of also winning in 2008, was Highly Honored (tie for second) in 2009, and a semi-finalist in 2007 - the first year I entered the contest. Below is a short background story which I submitted with this entry. You can click on the image above for a larger view or purchase a Fine Art Print here.
...What immediately stood out about this composition is that these Bald Eagles appear to be placed as though there were the winners of an Eagle Olympics waiting for someone to hang the appropriate medals around their neck. The winner appears to literally be taking the younger eagle ‘under his wing’ as he proudly holds his head up and sticks his chest out. It was a great moment that I was able to recognize, quickly compose and capture.
The eagle image is absolutely spectacular! Was that taken with the Sigma 150-500 lens? I just started birding and am considering either that lens or the new Bigma, which seems to have better resolution per some test reports.
ReplyDeleteTom Schaefer (TomNJ)
tomschaefer@compuserve.com
Thanks Tom,
ReplyDeleteThat particular capture was taken with a Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 lens @ f/5.6 on a D200 at ISO 800 with the noise removed using Topaz DeNoise. I do own the Sigma 150-500 but that lens is only good in strong light since it is a slow lens, f/6.3 at the long end.