[FHaluska]

I was watching ospreys hunt the other day, and though many decided to enjoy their catch too far away, or behind cover, or with the light directly behind, this one obliged with some nice photo opportunities. I wish the background was less busy, but it was still a cool moment. Any other thoughts/suggestions/criticisms would be welcomed! Enjoy!

-Frank

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[DRwyoming]

Great images Frank! I really like those where the eye is bright and visible. The busy background and the out of focus leaves(?) creating the green blur are the big things that distract from the beautiful subject. Were you shooting your lens wide open or are these very heavy crops from the original image? If the lens was stopped down or if you were very far from the bird but the background was relatively close to the bird then it would be hard to throw the background sufficiently out of focus.

Regardless, it's a great and interesting sequence you captured. Nice job!

 

[FHaluska]

Great images Frank! I really like those where the eye is bright and visible. The busy background and the out of focus leaves(?) creating the green blur are the big things that distract from the beautiful subject. Were you shooting your lens wide open or are these very heavy crops from the original image? If the lens was stopped down or if you were very far from the bird but the background was relatively close to the bird then it would be hard to throw the background sufficiently out of focus.

Regardless, it's a great and interesting sequence you captured. Nice job!

Unfortunately, the lens was neither stopped down significantly, nor are they heavy crops. The osprey was just barely in front of the trees behind it, and I was peeking through a small gap with no way to get closer or change the angle to the background. Definitely an interesting sequence though, these birds are always fun to watch!

 

[Yezdi]

Too good series. Love the sharp eyes.

 

[Promapper]

nice job.

 

[Callie]

great sighting, one i would love to see!

 

[Ralph]

I’m hoping to have an opportunity like that some day. Great series.

 

[Jose Matutina]

They're wonderful birds to photograph!

 

[Rose]

Great photos.

 

[Snapshot2020]

Nice series, Ospreys are my favorite Bird of Prey to photograph. They are very protective of their Nest sites when Eagles or Hawks approach the area there’s usually a chance to photograph a aerial combat encounter.

 

[Warren D]

Nice series, there isn't much you can do when they perch with a busy background close behind them. The light is great and you did well with the exposures and focus. Some tighter crops might help and if you really wanted to you could mask the osprey and darken and blur the BG, which would make the osprey and her catch stand out a little more.

 

[FHaluska]

Thanks everyone! Glad you liked them!

Nice series, Ospreys are my favorite Bird of Prey to photograph. They are very protective of their Nest sites when Eagles or Hawks approach the area there’s usually a chance to photograph a aerial combat encounter.

I'll have to keep an eye out for that! Definitely would be a great thing to witness!

Nice series, there isn't much you can do when they perch with a busy background close behind them. The light is great and you did well with the exposures and focus. Some tighter crops might help and if you really wanted to you could mask the osprey and darken and blur the BG, which would make the osprey and her catch stand out a little more.

Good ideas! I could play with the crop a little, I didn't really experiment much with that on these, as I was pretty happy with the framing. But it could help eliminate some distractions and focus the viewers' attention. And yes, I could try to fix the BG with some aggressive post processing work, but while it can give great results, I feel like it can toe the line between digital art and photography. (Which is not necessarily a bad thing, just not my style).