Your own back yard can yield amazing photos

This time last year I traveled to the Conowingo Dam at the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland to capture photos of eagles. The Conowingo Dam is famous for attracting eagles who feed there in the winter. The eagles are famous for their epic fights over the fish that are caught. They chase each other through the air grabbing for the fish. The juvenile eagles in particular chase the adult eagles for the fish.

I went with great expectations of getting amazing photos I couldn’t get anywhere else. And I froze trying to do it. The eagles fish there in the coldest part of the year — late November through February. Standing on the edge of the water in the north that time of year can take your breath away. Also last year the water levels were high, meaning the eagle activity was slow and contained to the far side of the dam. I had a great trip and had a great time with new friends, but I didn’t come home with the spectacular eagle photos I was hoping for.

This morning out at Robinson Preserve, I was reminded of that trip when directly above my head I spotted a juvenile eagle chasing an osprey for a fish. I didn’t have to travel 1,100 miles to catch the chase close up and even though I forgot my jacket on this chilly Florida morning, I didn’t freeze while watching the spectacle. It was an amazing thing to watch. The birds were close and the chase was dramatic. You could hear the osprey warning the eagle to back off, but that juvenile wasn’t listening. He was focused on breakfast — the fish the osprey had just caught.

The chase went on for a while, until the osprey finally gave up and dropped the fish and the eagle dove down to get it. The osprey flew off in search of a fresh fish. I noticed several ospreys out fishing this morning and it’s always fun to get photos of them diving and coming up out of the water. It’s rare to see an eagle chase an osprey, but it happens and it happens in our own back yard. It was a good reminder that you don’t really have to travel far to find amazing photos.

Follow through is vital to catching great photos

I’m often asked how I get so many photos of wildlife doing something special, such as two birds dancing or a kingfisher diving for a fish and coming up with a delicious morsel. Like in baseball, it’s all about anticipation and follow through. In baseball you’re not done when the ball touches the bat, and in photography, that first strong photo doesn’t mean you’re done shooting a subject.

I do spend a lot of time waiting for something to happen. I wait for the sun to move the shadows, for birds to get into the perfect spot for the shot I envision and I wait for the birds to complete whatever action they may have started. If you don’t have patience, you may watch a perfect moment get away from you.

My photo of two birds dancing that was featured in the exhibit at the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature and that is included in my 2020 calendar, was actually part of a series of photos. It starts with a close-up of the male with the feathers up on his head, seemingly styled to attract a mate. The next photo is him bringing a fish to the female that caught his eye, then the dance begins, head to head and a foot in the air. While that’s the shot that is most popular, just like the male bird, I continued with the follow through and have a shot of him sealing the deal with the female bird, who he nests with for the rest of the season.

That series of shots tells a story. And that’s what makes photography interesting and allows your best work to stand out. This morning I watched an anhinga fishing for his breakfast. I know, I know, fishing shows don’t always have a lot of action. You have to be patient, but patient tends to pay off. I saw the anhinga come up with his breakfast and then toss it in the air, before he swallowed it. That was the shot I was hoping for, but I knew I wasn’t done. I stuck with him as he tried to catch the fish. This time it was a throw and a miss! The one that got away. He was one unhappy anhinga, but I walked away with a satisfying story.