Amazing!!

[MikeA]

http://www.miguellasa.com/photos/sspopup.mg?AlbumID=1001578

This is what real nature photography looks like. This guys a master with the long lens.

[Little Man]

Wow ... that is so cool. Thanks for sharing, Mike.

While fishing the Stones River the other day, I watched an osprey hunt the tail-end of a riffle and wished I had a good camera to try to capture the scene. Instead, I found myself killing about 30 minutes of prime fishing time just to watch this apex predator capitalize on the stripe run. Sometimes, you just gotta stop and gawk ...

[Steve H]

He is good!!! Amazing photos.

[Gofisher]

Very Nice! I liked the "double" catch and the explosion of water where you can't tell what it is.

[TimM]

Those are some amazing photos indeed.

How on earth does one focus so sharply on a  rapidly moving target at distance when you can't even really know where, exactly, the bird is going to strike?  A game of numbers perhaps? Take tons and tons of photos to get a few?   

Don't think I mentioned it here but a couple of weeks ago on my last big fish trip I had an osprey dive on, and get, one of my live baits. It was cool to watch and kind of comical when the bird got high enough that the weight of the planer board kicked in...the bird kinda like stalled in mid air...went backwards a little...struggled a bit trying to lift the whole shebang  and then finally let go of the bait. Almost made losing a hard to come by very large bait worthwhile.  Saw one hunting on JPP y'day too. These birds are obviously making a good come back.  Hardly ever used to see them and now it's almost common at certain times of the year.

[MikeA]

Tim first off it typically takes lots of shutter fires to get one good shot like those, for me at least.

Secondly you have to know the animal you’re stalking and spend vast amounts of time pursuing and learning it to get the behavior you’re trying to capture. Read: no more fishing time.

Third you'll need to get a second mortgage to afford the equipment needed to capture shots like that. Cameras with super fast shutter speeds and high end sensors. Then you’ll need lenses with super fast focus motors anti shake technology and perfect glass and filters. Then a nice light tripod to hold it all steady yet still be maneuverable. One could easily drop $15,000 to $20,000 on a set up to capture those kinds of shots. You can also get out cheaper but you’ll spend the same amount of time and your shots won’t be near as good (sharp).

[Mike Hill]

Amen to what Mike said.  $5,000 camera, $800 Carbon-fiber tripod, $600 Wimberley gimbal tripod head, $1000 waterproof cases for all, $300 batteries,  $10,000 lens (and that's only one), $1000 teleconvertors, $400 Camo covers for all, $200 blind, $100 CF memory cards X 3 or more, $500 portable photo bank, $2000 Mac for post-processing, $80 firewire card reader, $700 Adobe CS3 for post processing, $1,800 30" Cinema Monitor, Misc. ($$$$$)


And yes 1000's of pics taken for practice, and hundreds to get these few shots.  Oh, and lets not forget the cost of models and bait.  Lots of these real close up shots of raptors, are taken in semi-controlled conditions and with the possible use of trained animals.  To get shots like that, you have to know where the bird is to pounce on his prey.  This type of serious glass is not a zoom - but a fixed focal length.  If you want to get a full frame shot of a moving Osprey, you better know where he is going and be at the correct distance from him.  No amount of money on the highest dollar equipment and fastest autofocus can overcome the movement inherent in panning a diving Osprey - especially with a 600mm f4 or longer (and slower) at that frame filling closeness.  He probably had to pre-focus on an area and await the bird coming and then held the shutter release down and held on.  Luck, knowledge, and great technique combine for great shots.

[ALflygirl]

I am jealous of two things here......

1. the obvious talent of the photographer
2. the fish catching skills of this osprey....dang!!

Thanks for sharing Mike!