Portland Osprey

[Ronald Zigler]

Portland Osprey IMG_5430 by ronzigler, on Flickr

This juvenile Osprey was hanging out near its nest with a sibling. The nest is located right off the Fore River Bike/Hike path in Portland, Maine. The lighting was far from ideal, but I was able to approach quite closely since I was screened by a small fence covered with vines. Consequently, the Osprey did not see me until I slowly rose from behind the fence. I have mixed feelings about having gone out to photograph under these lighting conditions.

Canon 60D, 300mm f4L + 1.4x, IS0 2500, 1/200 (I used the fence for support).
Thanks for looking.

[gail bisson]

Hi Ron,
Good pose.Did you know you can post your image much larger at 1200pixels on the long side?
I am not loving the comp. I feel you need more room on the left for the bird to look into.
I would also suggest some NR on the BG. The subdued lighting helped the exposure on the whites so I am Ok with the light,
Gail

[Ronald Zigler]

Hi Ron,
Good pose.Did you know you can post your image much larger at 1200pixels on the long side?
I am not loving the comp. I feel you need more room on the left for the bird to look into.
I would also suggest some NR on the BG. The subdued lighting helped the exposure on the whites so I am Ok with the light,
Gail

Thanks Gail. I did have enough room to recrop this image with more room on the left. You're right. It looks better. Reducing noise on the background only, however, is not something I have done very much (I was not pleased with my results). I'd repost the image, but apparently I do not have permission to post attachments. I had followed the directions to post the original image from Flickr and thus assumed it was larger.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I love the "angry" pose, and the great view of the talons. Overcast days are my favorite...no harsh contrast, and no worries about light angle (although it does look like it was heavy overcast here). I can imagine the image with the tweaks suggested...