Moment Before Landing

[Ken Lassman]

Blue Cypress Lake

From this morning's shoot...I can hear it now.."Another Osprey"?....Sorry, I just can't stay away. I would have preferred having the underside lit up... but this is my favorite pose....when they configure their wings in this position and hit the brakes before landing. For me personally, I felt that the HA, intense open beak expression and eye, plus the outstretched talons makes this one of my favorites. Of course C&C always appreciated.

Nikon D300
Nikon 300/2.8
ISO 400
f/7.1 @ 1/1250
Manual, Hand Held

[arash_hazeghi]

Excellent Ken, love the wing positions and landing pose. sharp and open beak, open talons and direct eye contact makes this for me. if anything would try to tone down the perch.

Well done, sorry we didn't get to meet. Hopefully we will meet and go shooting next time.

[Peter Farrell]

Excellent, Ken. I agree with you self critique and arash's suggestion on the perch. Love your chosen comp for this.
Peter

[sandy richards]

Ken, wonderful image!
Excellent pose, fine head, and very fine detail on the eye and talons especially.
I agree dampening the brightness on the perch would improve this already-excellent image!

Sandy

[Lance Peters]

Hi Ken - lots to like here - I would not be able to keep away either :)
Great Practice thats for sure.
Love the wing position and the HA and clear sharp eye.
Agree on toning down the perch a little.
Excellent!!

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Ken All you needed was better light !! Check the top of the wing compared to the bottom (from break down) need a smoother transition You did well with exposure compensation and processing but it needs more detail !!

At the lake its frustrating because by the time you get warmed up its all over unless we get clouds. Most images taken after eight start being marginal !! We can only hope for and East wind (12 mph) with lots of clouds forty five minutes after sunrise and clear skies to the West :)