Osprey with Shark

[Kirk Benson]

I went to Bolsa Chica Thursday afternoon and came upon an Osprey right away. I ended up following him for about three hours getting some great portrait and flight shots. My patience and persistence finally paid off when he dove into one of the bays near me and came up with a shark. :D:D:D He was so proud of his catch that he did a flyby just to my right and gave me a really good look. It was a great adventure on a beautiful afternoon. :D:D:D

D300 | 70-300 VR @ 300mm | Man Exp of 1/1600s @ f/7.1 and +1.0 EV | Auto ISO

Thanks for looking, I hope you enjoy seeing it half as much as I had getting it.

[Rafael Rodriguez Mojica]

Wow, incredible shot, more considering the size of your telephoto, which means you were really close to the Osprey. This is the first time I see it with a shark. As you may know both are at the top of their feeding chains.

[Ramon M. Casares]

Love the light angle! the exposure makes it work for me! Pose is great but that special meal puts this one over the top! Big congratulations!

[Tony Whitehead]

Excellent shot, Kirk. Sounds like you had a great time. My only suggestion would be to tone the sharpening down a little as the halos are quite prominent.

[Matthew Studebaker]

I think this is an awesome shot, really hard to find anything wrong...perhaps the halos on the primary wing feathers could be toned down a bit. I think this action is incredible. What a perfect pose from both the osprey and the shark! Wish I got this shot. Congrats!

[Vincent Grafhorst]

Awesome photo Kirk. Great poses, both of the bird and the shark. Really cool, congrats!

[Doug Brown]

Too cool Kirk! Agree with the kudos and suggestions above. Thanks for posting!

[James Salywoda]

Outstanding Shot! Great position for both the shark and the Osprey. A shot I would love to have. Well Done!

[Arthur Morris]

Way cool on the sand shark and ditto the comments above. You wrote that he gave you a "really good look" but in fact, he is looking the other way and this weakens an otherwise excellent image a bit.

[Kirk Benson]

Hey thanks everyone for looking and your very kind words, very much appreciated. I'm still smiling three days after taking this series. :D:D:D

I'm so glad to finally capture an image that's worthy of all the great work that gets posted here everyday.

Artie, you are correct of course, what I meant and should have said was that he gave me a really good view ;-)
Thanks for looking and your critique, it always means a lot to me.

Thanks again everyone!

[Sabyasachi Patra]

I agree. Its a wonderful experience watching such drama unfold infront of your eyes.

[Ed Grella]

Great capture!!!