Bald Eagle in River Steam © 2008 Bo Mackison

Taken at Sauk City, Wisconsin – the eagles’ wintering grounds on the Wisconsin River – in bitter cold weather. With the temperatures below zero and the river temperature at 30˙ F, huge clouds of steam were rising from the water’s surface and ice crystals were forming on the nearby tree branches. A single Bald Eagle swooped downstream and landed in this tree across the river from me. I took a few photographs because the eagle was within sight and it would be my last chance to photograph an eagle until next winter.

I nearly deleted all of the photos – they were really bad – but then decided to play around with one of them. I increased the exposure of the dark photo, added a little saturation, and cropped tightly. This is the result – a different look from the sharp photos I like, but the effect seemed to fit the mood. Looks a bit like a painting to me.