Osprey From Florida, Part Two

by Scott Martin Photography | Apr 12, 2011 | Birds, Blog, Raptors

The last blog entry concentrated on in-flight images of Osprey.  It is very difficult to plan for in-flight shots although knowing the  behaviour  of the bird you are shooting does help in  selecting the best vantage point to provide an increased likelihood of getting that perfect shot.  Today’s post concentrates on a perched Osprey and a most fortunate situation where the bird remained on the perch for about ten minutes allowing time to set up for different shots and think about composition as well as positioning for the best light.  All of the images today were shot using the EF 500mm f/4 L IS lens with a Canon 1.4x TC creating a focal length of 700mm.  These shots were taken using a monopod as I didn’t want to risk setting up the tripod and have the bird leave his perch before I was set up…..an unfortunate occurrence that virtually every bird photographer has experienced at least one too many times!

These images are helped by a great perch that itself is visually interesting, a beautiful blue sky and a healthy Osprey who was perched only twelve feet above the surface of the water at the Viera Wetlands on the East coast of Florida.

This first image is a bit awkward compositionally as the free space required on the left (providing space for the bird to look into) positions the perch too centrally in the image for my liking and the angle to the sun leaves fairly large shadows across the neck and chest of the bird.

The next two images were taken from the same position however the ‘over the shoulder’ pose of the Osprey allows for free space to be placed on the right side of the image, moving the perch to a position that is much more appealing than in the first image.  This results in the second & third images being much better photographs than the first.  The third image was ‘warmed’ a little in post processing by increasing the white balance temperature about three hundred degrees.  Adjusting the white balance in post processing can create subtle to rather dramatic changes in the final image, which is one of the many reasons to always shoot in RAW format where exposure and white balance can be adjusted in post processing.  Neither of these two parameters can be changed if you shoot in JPEG format.

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The position for the next image was changed in order to minimize the shadow across the neck of the bird, however doing this moved the perch directly behind the body of the bird, which should generally be avoided. Cropping the image vertically and keeping the perch out of the centre of the frame helps improve the composition.  Shooting birds and landscapes in a portrait orientation is not often suggested, however often works well.  When Bryan Peterson was asked when to shoot in a vertical format, his answer was “only after you’ve already taken the shot in a horizontal or landscape format”.  This is good advice so after you’ve got all the shots you want in the landscape perspective, don’t forget to turn your camera ninety degrees and take a few more shots.

After posing wonderfully for about ten minutes it was time to head off and find another fish.

Osprey from Florida, Part One

by Scott Martin Photography | Apr 10, 2011 | Birds, Blog, Raptors

Its been a whirlwind of activity around our place over the past month, so there has not been much time to process images and write blog posts, however it looks like things will be settling down a little and I can post some new images over the next few weeks.

Although Osprey used to be known as “Fish Hawks”, they should more accurately be known as “Salt or Sea Eagles” based on their scientific name, Pandion haliaetus (Greek ‘hal’ = salt or see; ‘aetos’ = eagle).  The Osprey is the only raptor that feeds exclusively on live fish, which they catch by plunging into the water talons first, with such a force that they often completely submerge before coming up with a fish.

When Osprey fly while carrying a fish they always rotate the fish so it faces head first providing better aerodynamics as can be seen in these first two images.

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This is the same Osprey perched and ready for his meal, however I don’t think he liked having the camera pointed at him.

The previous three images were shot at the Viera Wetlands which are on the Atlantic Coast of Florida not too far south of Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach.  The next image was taken at the Sebastian Inlet Nature & Wildlife Preserve which is located about an hour south of the Viera Wetlands.  It’s not a great image however I like the way the strong back lighting illuminates the wings.

The next in flight image was taken from a boat we chartered in Lake Toho in order to photograph Snail Kites (which will be posted soon).  Lake Toho is near Kissimmee in Central Florida.

The last image for this blog post shows a female Osprey incubating her eggs which is a job shared by both parents.  Osprey build large nests which they continue to construct over the years until they become quite huge.  They are often built on platforms placed on telephone poles along highways in the south.  In this case they were nesting on top of a wooden pole out in Lake Toho about ten feet above the lake surface.

I’ll post part two of the Osprey photographs in the next couple of days.