Urban eagle

American Bald Eagle, Alton, Illinois
January 1, 2011
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Some days I wish I had a 500 mm lens. If I did, the eagle  would be a much larger part of this photo, taken along the Mississippi River near Alton on New Year's Day. But something would have been lost, too. Mainly the train, which adds a sense of place and time. This eagle is not exactly in the wild. It's more of an urban eagle, feeding along the locks and dams of the Mississippi, which churn up fish and keep part of the river unfrozen in winter. He's a little bit of a showoff, too, posing at a distance on the rocks, knowing most photographers have lenses long enough to capture every feather. Just not this photographer. Shutter: 1/320; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 800; Focal length: 200 mm