jcollis01
FollowThis eagle just missed his prey, a duck, and the water is dripping from his talons.
Taken in the estuary of the Campbell River, Campbell River, BC...
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This eagle just missed his prey, a duck, and the water is dripping from his talons.
Taken in the estuary of the Campbell River, Campbell River, BC
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Taken in the estuary of the Campbell River, Campbell River, BC
Read less
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Campbell River, British Columbia (Vancouver Island) by the estuary of the Campbell River. This is a haven for all sorts of wildlife and great photo opportunities.Time
I love watching the Bald Eagles that live amongst us and to get the best view of them hunting is at the "spit" located at the north end of Campbell River. On one side of the spit is the ocean, the other side is the estuary of the River. It was around noon on March 15th and I was busy watching a flock of mallard ducks and Buddy our local Mute Swan, when a pair of Eagles decided that Duck would be on lunch menu that day.Lighting
The lighting that day was very grey and overcast - typical for the time of year and the area.Equipment
I was using my husband's Nikon D50 and an18-200 lens. I was fairly new to the camera and did not use the manual settings, so I had it on Auto and the Sports setting. All was freehand and I just continued to follow the Eagles as they were in action.Inspiration
Initially I was interested in trying to capture pictures of the mallard ducks and the Mute Swan who were only 50 feet from me when a pair of Eagles decided to go after one duck in particular. They took turns dive bombing the duck with no success. Each time they tried, the duck would dive under and leave the eagles extremely frustrated and mad. At one point even the Swan got mad at the poor little duck and chased him around. This picture was taken after an attempt at the duck and the eagle had just come up from the water, talons empty but dripping water and he was in the process of circling back around for another go at the duck. Side note - the duck survived that time.Editing
As I mentioned before, I just started using this camera (which is 15 years old and one of the first digital cameras) and I wasn't even aware of what shooting RAW was, which is a shame, but I did have it on ISO 400 and the largest picture setting (2MB) for this camera. With it being such a grey and overcast day, I've used Adobe Lightroom to bring up the colors.In my camera bag
I only have one lens for this Nikon and that is the 18-200. That lens is very versatile and I really love using it. I also carry a small tripod now, just in case.Feedback
I am new to photography and am trying to soak everything up. One thing that I have found with trying to photograph birds is don't just point and shoot, but rather following your subject with the camera as you click. Also remember to breath :-)