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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.

While driving down Bryant Road today I spotted a large hawk sitting on top of a telephone pole. I pulled over and grabbed my camera and telephoto lens. A few minutes after I was in position to shoot and had my camera set the way I wanted with a super-fast shutter speed and a high ISO, the hawk flew in the perfect direction for me.

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.

Stearns Park Takeoff

Can't Keep me Down

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

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

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.

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.

After taking some shots of Brad and a student of ours photographing a mature bald eagle at Ludington State Park, I switch to my big lens just in time to watch the eagle take off after an immature eagle swooped down at it. The mature bird flies over my head so close that I have to shoot without looking through the viewfinder to track with it. Awesome! F4.0 at 1/4000, ISO 800, 500 mm lens at 500 mm

Today we had a customer who wanted to take a private lesson with us and wanted to go shooting out in the field. The weather was great so we decided to take Billy York to Ludington State Park to try photographing the bald eagles. We succeeded on our first attempt. We had a blast and it was a great way to spend an afternoon. F5.6 at 1/320, ISO 100, 600 mm lens with 1.4 extender at 850 mm

Tonight, Julia, Ethan and I were on the way to Rachel’s house to have dinner with her, her kids, and several of her relatives. Julia spotted this bald eagle on East Hansen Road not too far from Rachel’s house. This was one of the best “eagle trees” I had ever seen, and it was so cool actually witnessing an eagle sitting in it.