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Ospreys or what used to be called the Fish Hawk are just downright bloody cool! In the late 70’s I became good friends with Roger Tory Peterson who infected me with his love for these birds and it’s never stopped. When I started out in wildlife photography, they were just making a comeback, hard hit by pesticides.They are quite the characters when they are on the wing except when going after prey. Then it’s all business and when it comes to aerial aerobatics, it’s some of the finest flying you’ll ever see. Well, how do you tell that story in a still image? I’m still working on that and this past week at Ding Darling, I worked on it some more.
It was late afternoon at Ding Darling, the sun already making a dash for the horizon. Chuck and I were busy spinning in circles as there was so much activity, hard to know which way to point the lens. I love bird photography like that! It was during this time this Osprey started to tease us. You know what I’m talking about, with the wind and sun on your back, perfect conditions, they start in your direction. They keep coming and just as you’re ready to hit the shutter release, they turn and go the other direction. Chuck and I were both there with our D4s / 800mm w/TC-1.25e all primed as the Osprey went away and then turned back. Finally he made a couple of clockwise circles nearly overhead and then at the right moment photographically, it made a break in the circle and dove. You see the series of shots above. And the one single image is my favorite, it’s what I’m after. It might be just a tad too close to the corner, but I like the energy this totally unconventional composition has and what it says about the artistry of the air when the Osprey dives.