Eagles

Eagle Flying over Legends Ranch

Having multiple camera lenses is a blessing and a curse. After a long snowy hike back from Big Point Sable Lighthouse, I spotted six bald eagles in a row of tall white pines about a quarter mile ahead. Of course, I had my wide-angle lens on my camera, and I scrambled for my telephoto as each bird took flight and soared overhead. Once I had the proper equipment ready, a seventh bird, an immature bald eagle, came into view.

I don't consider myself a great wildlife photographer. When I think of some of the all-time greats, I think of Carl Sams, Jim Brandenburg, and Franz Lanting. I was excited this morning when I watched over twenty bald eagles fight over a couple of dead deer north of Custer. I came home with one photograph I was proud of. F5.6 at 1/1600, ISO 800, 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender at 850 mm

Sight Seeing

I have made a lot of close-up shots of eagles but Brad and I also love to make environmental portraits of wildlife that are sometimes as much or more about their surroundings. There is something about the position of this eagle in a lone tree overlooking a large field near East Jordan that I think makes the eagle, and the tree, a perfect complement to each other.

Snowy Owls and Eagles

Snowey Owls and Eagles

Snowy Owls and Eagles

Snowy Owls and Eagles

Snowy Owls and Eagles

I am thankful to see more and more bald eagles. This immature eagle was flying overhead as we were exploring the woods on the farm.

Nothing could have excited this Michigander more on a winter’s day photo excursion on M-22 than experiencing this eagle flying by so close that my 500-millimeter telephoto lens could seemingly reach out and touch it. The mature eagle was among several hunting for food on a January morning near Crystal Lake north of Frankfort. Brad and I were en route to photograph the Point Betsie Lighthouse when we spotted several eagles feeding just offshore by a large open-water seam in the ice. We saw one of the eagles fly to shore and roost in some tall pines on a nearby hillside. The lighthouse could wait; there might be an image here as good or better for the book we had started shooting, Todd and Brad Reed’s Michigan: Wednesdays in the Mitten. We would be proved correct. We quickly set up 25 yards on either side of the flight path and waited…and waited. I was rewarded with my all-time favorite eagle-in-flight image when one of the eagles chose to fly right by my hiding spot instead of Brad’s. The image was (and remains especially) meaningful to me because my Army Ranger son Tad served our country for several years as a 101st Airborne Screaming Eagle. This eagle was definitely screaming past. Once I got on target, I was able to squeeze off three shots as I swung the lens on my gimbal tripod head and tracked with the majestic bird. With fast action shots, a photographer can often pre-select the background; but often, time does not allow one to see at the fraction of a second of exposure exactly how the subject fits against the background. Back the next day on my computer at our gallery, this image screamed for attention and selection. The bird fit perfectly against the background, simplifying and making order out of what would have been chaotic one one-thousandth of a second earlier or later. Brad and I like to say, “Little things are big things.” On this shot, a fraction of a second made a big difference

Can't Keep me Down

Stearns Park Takeoff

Wintery Perch

Just after we rounded one of the many bends in the Pere Marquette River tonight, a mature bald eagle landed in a tree less than 50 yards away from our drift boat. Our guide, Josh Mead, stopped the boat long enough for me to get my 70-200mm lens on so I could make this photograph of the beautiful river hunter. F3.5 at 1/500, ISO 800, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

One of the best parts of summer in Ludington for me is to go boating on Hamlin Lake. Today we took the boat out to find some photos and these two bald eagles flew low right over us. I was glad I had my big lens already on my camera ready to make this image.

Bald eagles in Michigan are becoming so prevalent now that my dad and I have spotted at least one on almost every Tuesday of this year while traveling the state for "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed." When I was a kid, if you saw a bald eagle in Michigan, it was a big deal and you couldn't wait to tell everyone. I am so glad the eagles are making a strong comeback nationally. F3.5 at 1/500, ISO 800, 70-200mm lens at 200mm

This eagle looked a little rough today as it soared over us on the boat. We all commented on how it seemed to be missing several feathers. Bright summer sun and clear blue skies are usually not a photographer’s friend, but today they worked in my favor for this image.