Tesla is a golden eagle who is thought to be the only eagle to have survived electrocution in the US, and because of this, is named for Nikola Tesla, one of whose inventions was the alternating current that electrified the world. This evening I met Tesla who accompanied her handler, Andy McBride, a master falconer and PG&E lineman, to a meeting of the Placer County Fish and Game Commission. Andy is working to educate people about the perils that eagles and other raptors face when they land on power lines and are electrocuted. Tesla was injured 14 years ago, losing part of her foot as a result. She could not be released back to the wild after her rehabilitation so she is an educational ambassador for the California Foundation for Birds of Prey, an organization for which I volunteer.
I faced lighting challenges and although I had my tripod, it was not practical to use it. Earlier today I read an article about coping with poor indoor lighting situations and I took the advice in the article. I set the camera to Aperture priority, opened to maximum aperture, and then adjusted the ISO to achieve the best exposure. Even at high ISO settings, the shutter speeds remained very low so I was lucky to get a couple of pictures in adequate focus. I couldn’t decide which of the best “in focus” shots to use and because it’s late, I decided not to agonize, just post them both. Both are cropped. The first required some exposure adjustments in Aperture. Except for cropping, the second is SOOC.
Wonderful shots! I like the first best, but both are great (especially considering the low light!). Super job with focus!