Osprey
Of the twenty-four species of raptor that breed in North America, by far the best fishermen are the Osprey. Bald Eagles may fish during warmer months, but the Osprey is a fishing specialist. They get to be two feet tall and have an enormous wingspan of up to six feet, but their wings are visually a cross between the faster falcons and their larger cousins the Eagle. They are unmistakable during flight, as none of the other raptors appear as distinctive. Their legs are powerful so they can lift their catch out of the waterway that they have plunged into. The bottoms of their feet have sharp spines to make it easier for them to grasp one of Wyoming's native trout. Pesticides dwindled the species during the 50's and 60's, but they have made a good recovery with the help of conservation.
I'd had dreams of the Osprey in flight, and could see the photograph of an Osprey in flight with a trout in it's talons in my mind's eye. Photographing Osprey in the Tetons is a remarkable day, but I still couldn't get the shot I'd seen in my head on my computer screen. Then a little over a week ago, early in the morning, while taking the Buffalo Creek road like I always do, there he was just waiting for me to take his picture. It was a little harder than it sounds, as these majestic birds of prey don't pose; raptors are the definition of freedom and strength. I knew what I wanted to get on my memory chip, and of course was prepared with lots of practice, and just like that fifty frames had been recorded. Did I get what I wanted? only later would I know; don't spend so much of your time looking at your camera back, all your concentration should be on your subject, be it an Osprey or a child. The technology is not as important as capturing a great file.
The ISO was set at 500 on my Canon 7D, even on this sunny morning I felt I needed the higher speed this would give me for the fast and elusive bird. Sitting on the branch, f/10 at 1/1600th of a second, the Osprey in flight, f/8 at 1/2000th. All the shots were handheld with the image-stabilized 300mm f/4 lens, with a 1.4 extender. It's all very heavy, and a fine upper body morning workout, and all right here in my backyard. RAW conversion in the Canon software and post-production in Lightroom 5.2. And if you look very close at the fish that the Osprey is grasping with his talons in flight, you will see that this juvenile is carrying a German Brown Trout; a better fisherman then me.
