Fifty years ago, if you wanted to see our national symbol in the flesh (or feather), you’d have been searching for a long time: By the 1960s, just 487 breeding pairs of Bald Eagles remained in the Lower 48. Since then the species has made a major comeback, and today that number exceeds 10,000. The qualities that make the Bald Eagle such a potent patriotic symbol—its fierce strength and grand wingspan—also make it a perfect photography subject, especially against a stark winter backdrop. Here are some tips for getting a shot that faithfully captures all that majesty. 1. Master Light Metering Metering the light for proper exposure is probably the hardest technique to master when it comes to photographing mature Bald Eagles; the combination of their dark plumage and white head makes it difficult to attain an even exposure between the two extremes. Try using a center-weighted mode, metering the mid-value tones of a scene, and then adding or removing light to create the best...