A Fishing Trip of a Different Kind

[ArthurDent]

From my trip this morning to the ospreys' lair. There weren't very many flying today, but the one active individual managed to make a good catch. My friend loaned me his new 300 mm f/4 PF ED VR lens and I captured this one with it mounted on on my D500.  1/3200 sec. f/6.5, ISO 400. It is really a great lens and I believe I've discovered I need one quite badly.

[beryllium10]

Perfectly timed!  They are spectacular birds.  A pair nests and fishes near us here in Seattle and I never tire of watching them.  Occasionally if they latch on to a large fish they'll have trouble lifting themselves out of the water and getting airborne again.  And I like the way, once airborne, they shake themselves to get the water out of their feathers - like a dog after a swim, but in their case, without missing a wingbeat!  They were one half of the reason I bought an old 500 mm f/4 P last year (the other half of the justification was the solar eclipse).
Cheers,  John

[Frank Fremerey]

In these shots it it easy to understand that our birds are the remains of the dinosaurs ... very cool shot, great timing

[ArthurDent]

In these shots it it easy to understand that our birds are the remains of the dinosaurs ... very cool shot, great timing

Thank you, Frank. I hope you are on the mend and feeling much better!

[Frank Fremerey]

Thank you, Frank. I hope you are on the mend and feeling much better!

The doctors are still searching. But I was allowed to spend the weekend with my family!

[ArthurDent]

Perfectly timed!  They are spectacular birds.  A pair nests and fishes near us here in Seattle and I never tire of watching them.  Occasionally if they latch on to a large fish they'll have trouble lifting themselves out of the water and getting airborne again.  And I like the way, once airborne, they shake themselves to get the water out of their feathers - like a dog after a swim, but in their case, without missing a wingbeat!  They were one half of the reason I bought an old 500 mm f/4 P last year (the other half of the justification was the solar eclipse).
Cheers,  John

Thanks for your comment. I’ve got a few shots of the bird struggling (and it is, as you mentioned, a real struggle) to get airborne, and when I get access to my computer again, I’ll post a few. My son, daughter in law and their baby are staying with us for the summer until he starts his Ph.D program this fall and my computer room has been converted into a nursery for the duration, so I have to do my photo processing when the baby is awake.

[Jakov Minić]

What a catch, well done!

[ArthurDent]

What a catch, well done!

Thank you, Jakov. Very kind of you to say so!

[armando_m]

Fantastic capture, love the details when seeing the image large

[ArthurDent]

Fantastic capture, love the details when seeing the image large

Thank you. I think the 300mm lens was quite helpful in that regard. I’m hopeful I may be able to find one at a decent price on ebay.

[HCS]

I agree with the others that your image is magnificent!

The best purpose for a computer room is to be a nursery for a grand child 

[ArthurDent]

I re-edited my image using a few things Seapy showed me and I think they improved it considerably. Your thoughts?

[ArthurDent]

I agree with the others that your image is magnificent!

The best purpose for a computer room is to be a nursery for a grand child 

Thank you. I agree with you as to the computer room, the nursery is a far higher purpose.

[MFloyd]

Excellent ! And 2nd version even better.

[ArthurDent]

 Thank you. I’m much happier with the second version myself.