Anan Creek Eagle

Two years ago I was at Anan Creek, south of Wrangell, Alaska. Here, amazing numbers of bears and eagles congregate for a salmon feast during spawning season in late summer. Perhaps 300 eagles were within half a mile of our small photography group. Walking the trail from the bear viewing area to the beach where we would board our Zodiac for the return trip to our boat, I saw this bird on a branch, almost hidden by dense forest. Quietly shooting through the branches, handheld using a Nikon 80-400, I made a quick series of images before the bird moved on.

Today, I revisited this image using Topaz filters. I then brought back the detail in the eye and mouth with a layer mask.