The Story Behind This Shot

A bald eagle perched on a bare branch at Barr Lake, shoulders hunched and turned away, every feather on its back laid out like shingles. Barr Lake holds one of the most reliable eagle nests on the Front Range and the birds here are used to being watched. Shot long and tight so the winter sky falls away to nothing. A clean, detailed wildlife portrait that works at large sizes without a busy background competing.