- Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM
Let me say that first. It was a great day at lock & dam #14 down in Le Claire, Iowa today. The light doesn't get much better for eagle photography. It was cold, but still manageable. Burt and his friends had plenty of fish to throw in the river (thank you guys!), and the eagles followed their invitation. Many other photographers had lined up to use this opportunity for eagle photography in good light. I always enjoy meeting other photographers that love nature like I do. There is always interesting conversation and the best part that I recognized is that the experienced photographers are really helpful to anybody who is new to wildlife photography.
I have been an active runner and bicycle rider for most of my life. I have always trained hard and know exactly the feeling after a break in the process of training. Everything seemed to be harder and more difficult after not running for two weeks for whatever reason. This is how I felt today. I haven't done any wildlife photography since two weeks and during the first 500 shots today I felt very clumsy. I had a hard time to obtain focus. I could blame the cold temperatures or low battery level that seemed to slow down focus speed, but I know this is just in my mind. It is the lack of exercising every day that makes the difference. Many shots ended up in the trash can today but I'm always happy if I come back with one photo that is different or slightly better than anything before.
I like this photo because of the gorgeous light on the feathers against a flawless blue sky. As much as I hate blue sky without clouds for my landscape photography, I don't think it's a bad background for an eagle in flight.