“Whenever there’s salmon there’s going to be chaos.” This was Karthik Subramaniam motto as he camped out near the shore of the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve in Alaska, waiting for action.

It was the final day of his week-long photography trip and just a few hours before his ferry departed, but the software engineer-turned-hobbyist photographer stayed, watching as bald eagles swooped in and out of the fishing grounds. Haines, Alaska, a southern tip of land sandwiched between two inlets, hosts one of the largest congregations of bald eagles in the world every fall, when around 3,000 arrive in time for the salmon run.

Subramaniam noticed there was a log where a few lingered. This choice spot put the eagles in proximity to