Back in Alaska!

Back in Alaska!

I made it back to Alaska the other day, but I have been so busy I have not picked up the camera and made an image until yesterday afternoon. I have an absolutely incredible group of excited photographers with me, and we will have an epic week! This was an image from our boat trip down the Kenai River yesterday early evening, and you know I can’t pass up a chance to photograph a Bald Eagle! For this image I used my Tamron 50-400mm Di III VC VXD lens, at 400mm (600mm equivalent in cropped sensor mode), on a Sony a1, Manual Mode, f8, shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second, ISO 1000, handheld. #withmytamronmirrorless #withmytamron #tamron #tamronlenses #tamroncreates #tamronamericas #tamroncreativecollaborative #tamroncreative #tamronpro #TamronImageMaster #tamron50400 #BearWoodsPhotography #birdsofinstagram #nature #naturephotography #gnpa_pix #birdsofinstagram #birdnirdvana #baldeagle #eaglesofinstagram #kenairiver #alaska #thealaskaexperience #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops

A visit with River

A visit with River.

 

River is the resident educational Bald Eagle at the Teton Raptor Center in Wilson, Wyoming and absolutely beautiful! River is originally from Missouri and had an infection that resulted in her inability to fly in the wild. She came to the TRC in 2015 and will live a long healthy life there. It is amazing to see how she has grown and matured gaining more white on her head and tail each year. She is truly a great ambassador for the TRC. For me to be this close to a Bald Eagle is always going to be the highlight of my trip. The TRC can always use your support, so be sure to check them out. https://tetonraptorcenter.org/

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z7, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 560, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, Sirui P326 monopod, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #SiruiUSA, #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops, #BearWoodsPhotography

Juvenile Bald Eagle, Good News, Bad News…

Juvenile Bald Eagle, Good news, bad news.

 

Sometimes images come with a “good news, bad news” disclaimer, and this is one of them. The good news is this Eagle perched across from the boat docks from our workshop group one morning this past weekend. It was waiting and wanting to fly in to feed on a deer carcass someone had dumped. Every time it would approach it got mobbed by a bunch of Grackles and Gulls. I am guessing from the location they dumped it, they were hoping for a gator to get it. No, this wasn’t in Bear Woods, it was in Apalachicola. So what could be the bad news? Well the day before 2 folks with us left a few minutes after us and captured images of a beautiful mature Bald Eagle sitting on the dock feeding…

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 450, shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second, handheld, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #ShimodaExplore, #Apalachicola, #BearWoodsPhotography

You think its easy being an Eagle?

You think its easy being an Eagle?

 

I think the look on this Eagle’s face says it all. Everyone wants to pester you just because you are the symbol of America, and a top predator. This Blue Jay did this for a good 20 minutes off and on. I really began to feel for the Eagle. The Blue Jay had a friend come and help pester for a while too. In case you missed it yesterday, here is the link to our photography outing to photograph the Big Canoe Bald Eagles. Remember if you like, a thumbs up, if you haven’t Subscribed, please do!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNftC_Tzhdk

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 1250, shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second, handheld, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #BirdPhotography, #BirdNirdvana, #BearWoodsPhotography

Happy Independence Day America!

Happy Independence Day America.

 

Today is the day that the colonies declared their independence from England. Let me be clear, I don’t have anything against England and I think our countries have worked together well since we parted company. What a lot of people don’t know or realize is that simply declaring our independence didn’t give us our freedom, there was a long battle to follow that gave us our freedom and independence. After we gained our independence they wrote a Constitution that laid out the foundation we build on to this day. Being a veteran, and the child of veterans, I know that the freedom didn’t come without a price. It was a price I felt and feel was worth it and is what makes the country the greatest country on Earth. If I didn’t think it was, I would work through my freedom of choice in the voting booth to change things, or leave to whatever country I felt would best serve my needs. Among my freedoms is the right to protest, but a protest is only constructive if I offer a solution, otherwise it is more of complaining. My message is this: you are free because many gave their lives then and now to give you rights, not privileges, be grateful of those who did just that, don’t waste those freedoms on complaining, offer a solution, make changes you desire peacefully in a voting booth. On a personal note, please keep it off Social Media, it changes nothing, absolutely nothing. Celebrate our declaration of independence by taking a moment to think about your freedoms and where we go from here to stay on the track our Founding Fathers set in 1776.

 

This image is one of the Big Canoe Eagles from my session photographing them Monday with my friend Mark Green. It was a great morning, even if our opportunities to photograph the Eagles was limited. Below is a link of our outing if you would like to watch it. I include more images from the trip at the end as well. As always I ask that if you like it, please give it a thumbs up, and if you don’t already do so, please Subscribe to my channel.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNftC_Tzhdk

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 1250, shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second, handheld, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #BearWoodsPhotography, #HappyBirthdayAmerica, #4thofJuly, #Freedom

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle.

 

I went with a friend to spend a morning on a lake to view and hopefully photograph the local Bald Eagles. The lake is in a gated community and for the best viewing you have to be in a boat. It was truly fascinating to watch how these Eagles have adapted to the visitors to the lake. The Eagles recognize when people are fishing and will follow the boats. We talked to a guy one day who was on a paddle board and had caught a fish, the birds snatched it before he could put it into his creel basket. The Eagles are very used to seeing people in a boat and comfortable if you cruise by, stop, and take photos. I imagine though the birds would act completely different if you were to get out of the boat and approach one from the land. I did some testing and shooting with the mirrorless cameras and was pleased to see how well they worked with the Eagle. The Eagle in flight was a different story, as the camera just couldn’t find the right focus nor track the bird.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z6 via the FTZ adapter, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 360, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, handheld utilizing the Vibration Compensation feature of the lens (moving boats and tripods are tough), processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #BirdPhotography, #BirdNirdvana, #BirdsofPrey, #BearWoodsPhotography

Harriet and Eaglet

Harriet and Eaglet.

 

It is hard for me to go down to Ft Myers and not stop by the SW Florida Eagle Nest in North Ft Myers. I only had an hour to spend observing and photographing, but was treated to the male, M15, bringing in some type of meat for the youngsters, and then watch as one of the Eaglets went out on a branch with Harriet. Harriet seemed less than enthusiastic that the young one had discovered how to get out there with her. So much for alone time…

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 400, shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second, Sirui SR 3204 tripod and PH20 Gimbal head, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #SiruiUSA, #SiruiProfessional, #BearWoodsPhotography, #BirdNirdvana, #BirdPhotography

The Sentinel

The Sentinel.

 

Late one afternoon our group was near Kelly, Wyoming photographing some snow covered pines. As we drove back we spotted 2 Bald Eagles on a power pole, one half way up, one on the top. We stopped to photograph them of course. We noticed that the one half way up was feeding on what we later identified as a Mallard duck. Our first thought was the one on top was waiting to feed, but as we looked closer we noticed that it had a full crop, which is the area at the top of the digestive system that stores food. We are guessing the two were a mated pair and simply shared dinner, the one on the top of the pole was simply waiting for the other to finish its meal, almost standing guard as it ate.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 1800, shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second, handheld, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #BearWoodsPhotography, #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops

River

River.

 

River is a 6 year old American Bald Eagle at the Teton Raptor Center in Wilson, WY. She was also the “headliner” for our educational program with the TRC. It is hard to put into words how beautiful a bird she is, but if I had to use one word… magnificent! She is so striking and to be so close to see the detail on her was incredible. I know that is a lot of words to describe her, but I could go on and on. She is at the Center because she is a victim of water pollution and can not fly, and therefore could not survive in the wild. She will live and be well cared for serving as an educational bird. I know our group learned a lot about the Bald Eagle from the incredible staff at the TRC.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-850, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 640, shutter speed of 1/1250th of a second, Sirui P326 monopod, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #BearWoodsPhotography, #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops

A Big Canoe Eagle

A Big Canoe Eagle.

 

Continuing with my favorite images of 2018, I have to post one of the female Big Canoe Eagle fishing. The Eagles settled on an island in Big Canoe and provided for some great images and memories for me. I can’t help think about the day my friend, Mark Green, and I were photographing the Eagles when we heard the cries of the fawn that had fallen into the lake and was drowning. Mark and I scooped the fawn up in a net and released it on the shore for its mother. Events like that far exceed an image, but the image reminds me of the event. The Eagles have returned and are building a nest on the island again for this season. I hope I get the opportunity to photograph them again in 2019!

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 1250, shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #BearWoodsPhotography