Osprey
Jul, 2016Views
10261
Likes
Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in Everything Nature Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in We Love Animals Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Our Natural World Photo Contest
Member Selection Award
Featured
Runner Up in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 12
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 12
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Genius
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Categories
PRO+
susanhuckins
August 31, 2016
WOW what an awesome capture this is. The focus, clarity, composition and presentation are top notch. Well done. Susan
PRO+
davidridley
September 02, 2016
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
PRO+
chuckcadman
September 02, 2016
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
MediaOne
September 03, 2016
A very hard shot to capture but you pulled it off. One of the best nature photographs I've seen. You should send this to the National Geographic Magazine
jimfbauty
September 03, 2016
Incredible capture. Really pays to be in the right spot at the right time... even if that's not where you thought you were when you got there!!
PRO+
meiyazhagank
September 03, 2016
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
Platinum
Basscatcher24LLBJR
October 14, 2016
SUPERB!!!! Love Love this image and the quality of capture. Well done.
jasonsponseller
December 16, 2016
Perfect shot! The eye and direction of this eagle says it all, coming directly toward the lens. It draws you in! Great capture.
jasonsponseller
December 16, 2016
Perfect shot! The eye and direction of this eagle says it all, coming directly toward the lens. It draws you in! Great capture.
PRO+
kimpiriemilko
December 17, 2016
Absolutely facinating! Supherb capture! May I ask which lens you were using?
rjb8267
December 18, 2016
Thank you, I've done a behind the lens feature at the bottom of the picture :)
PRO+
kathymuhle
December 17, 2016
Wow! What an amazing photo - congratulations on all your wins too! Where did you take the photo?
rjb8267
December 18, 2016
Thank you, I've done a behind the lens feature at the bottom of the picture :)
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken at a trout farm not far from Rutland Water Nature Reserve in the UK. Rutland Water has several breeding pairs of Ospreys so the trout farm makes for an easy meal, especially during the breading season when there are lots of hungry mouths to feed.Time
Ospreys are often up at the crack of dawn so I left the house at 2.00am to get to the farm at around 4.00am. Unfortunately the morning turned out to be very cloudy and it was still very dark when the fist osprey appeared at 4.30am so I wasn't able to get any shots of this one. It was around 7.30am when osprey (J1) appeared over head and began to circle above the stock pond before eventually perching in a dead tree at the far side of the pond. After several minutes of checking out the trout the osprey dived and hit the water at an incredible speed emerging with the trout in its talons.Lighting
The light was very poor as it was 7.30am and cloudy. To freeze the action in this picture I had to shoot wide open at f/2.8 and ISO 640 to achieve a shutter speed of 1/1600Equipment
I used a Canon 1D Mkiv and a Canon 300mm 2.8 Mkii lens. The shot was taken hand held to allow me to get onto the bird as fast as possible, no other equipment was used.Inspiration
I had been photographing an osprey fishing locally on a large reservoir for a few weeks prior to taking this picture, but I only ever managed to get shots at distance. When I heard about the ospreys fishing at the trout farm I knew it would be a great opportunity to get closer to the subject (and boy was I right).Editing
I did very little post-processing, a bit of shadow adjustment and sharpening was all that was requiredIn my camera bag
Being mainly a wildlife photographer I tend to carry as little as possible, mainly due to the weight of the lens and camera. I have a small shoulder bag that contains a 1.4x and 2x converters, lens wipes and soft lens brush and I always take a spare battery and SD cards. I mainly shoot hand held but I keep a tripod and popup hide in the boot of the car just in case.Feedback
As any wildlife photographer will know, being at the right place at the right time is very often when you get your best shots, I always try and spend as much time as possible observing the subject. You will very often find a bird will hunt regularly in an area at certain times of the day or have a favourite perch or plucking post etc. This knowledge can be invaluable often allowing you to set up a hide and get much closer to your subject. The ospreys at the farm only visited early morning and evening so if I had turned up at 9.00am for example I wouldn't have got the shot.
