Yesterday afternoon I took a hike along a trail that runs beside a large river. There is a hardwood swamp a couple miles along the trail and I was hoping to find a nesting Prothontary Warbler or two. My timing was off and I had to turn and head out after only spending a few minutes at the swamp (though I did seek a yellow bird streak through... I suspect another visit or two may be in order). On my way in I'd came across an Osprey enjoying a fish dinner. It was between me and the sun so I continued on and didn't give it much thought. On the return I realized I'd passed right beneath an Osprey nest. Very well camo'd on the inward side of the trail, nore recognizable on the outbound side. One of the pair was sitting in a tree behing and above the nest and provided me with a photo op.
Canon 40D, Bigma @ 500mm, iso 1600, f/6.3, 1/1250. RAW conversion via CS3, Photoshop included selective sharpening of the bird, noise reduction on the background and additional sharpening of the eye.
Hi Bob - love the golden afternoon light - nice work on the PP - good for 1600 ISO on the 40D!!!
Good HA and eye contact - OOF foreground is a tad distracting.
Keep em coming.
Hi Bob, good light and exposure. Agree regarding the distracting nature of the OOF area in front of the bird. I might crop a bit off the top and bottom which will accentuate the bird more....
Pine Forest Osprey at Sunset
