A mature & inmature bald eagle competing for fish
Probably my most used lens on my Bald Eagles of Alaska tour that ran from March 12-18th was the Canon EF70-200mm F4 L IS. For many years I owned the older EF70-200mm F2.8L. It was a great lens but when I heard that the new Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS mkII was to be announced I decided to sell my old stand by. To hold me over until the new lens became available I purchased a used F4 IS version and quickly fell in love with it. The lens is extremely sharp, light, comfortable to carry, and I found myself using it much more than I had used the old 2.8L. Nearly all the time during the Alaska Eagle Tour I had the lens strung over my shoulder using the excellent Black Rapid Strap while I handheld either the 300mm F2.8L IS or the 500mm F4 IS. When the eagle action was a bit closer I could quickly set down the big telephoto and grab the 70-200mm for close action shots.
In the above image the two eagles were trying to get the same fish. I could see this developing and quickly grabbed the 70-200mm and zoomed out a bit so not to clip the wings of the eagles This is the EXIF for this image
Camera Model: Canon EOS 7D
Date/Time: 2011:03:17 12:34:30
Shutter speed: 1/2500 sec
Aperture: 4
Exposure mode: Manual
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Spot
ISO: 800
Focal length: 165mm
Eagle in a steep dive
We had a lot of action right near the boat. The zoom capabilities of the 70-200mm allowed me to quickly optimize the composition. Wide open the lens is razor-sharp. Here is the EXIF for the above image.
Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Shutter speed: 1/2500 sec
Aperture: 4
Exposure mode: Manual
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Partial
ISO: 800
Focal length: 180mm
Bald Eagle in Habitat
Here by zooming the lens out to just over 100mm I was able in include some of the environment in the image.
Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Shutter speed: 1/1600 sec
Aperture: 7.1
Exposure mode: Manual
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 800
Focal length: 116mm
Kacheamk Bay & Fishing Boat
This beautiful scene occured one evening just after our afternoon photo session. I had just walked into my room and saw this fishing boat coming in to the harbor so I quickly grabbed the Canon 5D mkII and 70-200mm. I was able to make a pleasing composition from the deck outside my room. The EF70-200mm F4IS is a great lens for landscape photography and the excellent image stabilization allows you to get great handheld images.
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Shutter speed: 1/250 sec
Aperture: 11
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 400
Focal length: 106mm
I’ll be running 2 of these trips next year The first will me March 3-8th and the second one will be March 9-14th. I can only take 5 people per tour and already have a lot of interest so I would imagine the tours will fill up quickly. So contact me for more information and to secure your spot.
