I set myself a goal at the start of 2017 to get a shot of an Osprey taking a fish out of the water.On my second attempt i got my shots from ONE dive!! The speed...
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I set myself a goal at the start of 2017 to get a shot of an Osprey taking a fish out of the water.On my second attempt i got my shots from ONE dive!! The speed is amazing and you have 3 seconds to capture the moment.
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Awards
Contender in the Photography Awards
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Top Shot Award 22
Contest Finalist in Virtual Exhibition Project
Legendary Award
Winner in Osprey Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Birds in Flight! Photo Challenge
Hero Award
Contest Finalist in Animals With Wings Photo Contest
People's Choice in BIRDS OF PREY Photo Challenge
Contest Finalist in The Wonders of the World Photo Contest
Community Choice Award
Contest Finalist in Fast Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 4
Runner Up in Covers Photo Contest Vol 47
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 47
Peer Choice Award
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 32
People's Choice in fishing Photo Challenge
Staff Favorite
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Virtuoso
All Star
Genius
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Cass_Howton
April 27, 2018
What a shot! You would have been stoked when you knew you had it. Well done..
PeterTaylor-PHOTOGENIX
May 26, 2018
Right up there with the best of the Once in a lifetime shots.... congratulations, well deserved!
carolinecournoyergalt
June 08, 2018
Beyond amazing , I can't imagine the feeling of capturing this moment !
HEdHead
March 03, 2019
Absolutely perfect timing. Beautiful shot! I can't say enough! It seems the Osprey is looking straight at you, like "Okay, didja get this one?" You took advantage of those 3 seconds!
Retiree
June 05, 2019
Great photo I know how hard it is to be at the right place at the right time with the camera set up and ready. Congrats!
kensundaram
May 22, 2020
Wonderful Snap.Your photo should have been number 1 Best. I have been trying for several days to capture a similar Raptor- Brahminy Kite hovering over a pond and diving down to catch a fish. So far no luck. I will keep trying. Thanks. Regards. - Ken Sundaram.
Cinderellastory
May 23, 2020
Ken,thanks a lot. Much appreciated.The Brahminy Kite is a stunning looking bird, good luck !
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at Hornmill Trout farm in Oakham, UK. The hide is at water level on the pond and Ospreys fish there nearly every day during the season.Time
This photo was taken at 7.21 pm on August 10th 2017.Lighting
Ospreys tend to fish when the light is poor at dawn and dusk as they cannot see the fish through the surface when the sun is brightly reflected on the water. This leads to a trade off between shutter speed and high ISO levels . At dawn you will have to drop your shutter speed or deal with high ISO in your shots.As the light improves you can up your shutter speed.When i took this shot there was about an hour of light left that evening which was lucky.I used a shutter speed of 1/2000th and the ISO was 2500. At dawn your ISO can hit 10000 at that speed but it all depends when the Ospreys choose to fish !Equipment
I shot this on a Nikon D750 and a Nikon F4 300mm, No flash, resting on a bean bag.Inspiration
I set myself a goal at the beginning of 2017 to get a shot of an Osprey taking a fish out of the water and then set about making it happen. On my second attempt i got my shots from ONE dive which i had to wait 3 hours for it to happen.The speed of the bird is intimidating at first.When the bird hits the water you have about 3 seconds to get your shots and then the bird will be gone!!!Editing
I'm not into doing loads of post process but i used lightroom which is enough to deal with any high ISO that you get and the associated noise!!! This shot was not cropped at all.Basic adjustments of contrast,Highlights,saturation ,shadows and sharpening.No objects removed or added to the image.In my camera bag
I normally have my Nikon F4 300 mm, F5.6 200-500 mm(my go to lens) and a Nikon 3.5-5.6 18-200 mm ( for landscapes). A D750 and a D7100 body.Feedback
Be prepared to wait hours in a hide to get this kind of shot. Ideally use a prime lens as it will focus faster than a zoom.Depending on when the birds choose to fish will affect the ISO level. Using a F2.8 lens will help reduce the ISO levels but it is still a hard shot to get properly. Nothing can prepare you for the speed at which it all happens!! After i got this shot i could barely sleep that night and was on a natural high for days afterwards!!!