Mad Meadowlark?

[jckegley]

I took this picture at Joe Overstreet Rd. I had positioned myself to photograph a bald eagle perching on a telephone pole...hoping I might get some in-flight shots when the bird took off.

Then came this crazy meadowlark. I could see him twitch this way and that on the barbed wire fence from the corner of my eye. He was very very distracting. I get the impression I ticked him off somehow.

His mannerism implied... 'you don't belong here, this is not your ranch and leave the eagle alone.

I have a review of Joe Overstreet Rd below if anyone is interested.

Joe Overstreet Road (http://www.wildlifesouth.com/Locations/Florida/JoeOverstreet.html)

[Photobiologist]

Great capture! (Hope you got the eagle too....).

I love the detail & the intense look in his eyes.

[jckegley]

I got the eagle while he was sitting on the pole, unfortunately I didn't get any real good in-flight photos. Actually no stellar photos came from the trip. The weather was bad and I spent too much time in other places. Next time I will stick to Joe Overstreet Rd.

I do think the area has a lot of potential. My biggest thrill was watching a Snail Kite dive down into the grass and come back with a snail. It was right in front of me and I took photos the whole time. Unfortunately they were all OOF. Kinda of sounds like a fishing trip....'you should have seen that bass that got away, had to be 10 pounds'. :-)

[rpk717]

Joe,

I think you're right. He looks upset and it looks like you are who he is mad at. Very nice shot, maybe a little on the hot side, was it toward the middle of the day? I always shoot my Canon bodies at -1/3 EV and if it's really bright outside maybe even -2/3 EV depending on the subject. That is with spot metering, which is quickly becoming a lost art with all the AUTO functions on the newer cameras.

[jckegley]

It was spot metering. To tell the truth, I didn't really prepare for the shot. I spun the camera on the tripod away from the eagle and starting shooting.

Some of the hotness to the photo may be my photoshop work too. Sometimes I get focused on one paritcular adjustment used to enhance or correct some aspect of the photo and I become blind to the overall look the adjustment did. I have done it often.

Thanks for the tip on the exposure during bright light. I will try it out.