This was taken off the gulf coast of Florida from a fishing pier. There were several Ospreys hunting near the shoreline, so it was just about waiting for the right moment. I caught this one a second or two after it was able to get the fish out of the water which appeared to be a struggle. In the larger view you can see a few drops of water coming off the wings.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.
Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
This is my first successful shot of an Osprey with a catch in good light and with the new 150-400 lens. I was impressed with the quality even with the 1.4x added. Wondering if DXO oversharpened the image.
Technical Details
Olympus OM-1, 150-400 +1.4x @529mm, 1/2000, f7.1, ISO 1000. I did crop about 30% off the image which was first processed in DXO Photolab for noise only.
Terrific shot! Osprey are big birds, but gracile and when they turn face on they nearly disappear. That combo looks to be outstanding for bird photography, especially BIF. Good crispness in the face of the bird, where it counts.
So…do you have a 1.4 x teleconverter and the 1.25x that is built in? Just curious.
Thanks much Kristen. “Gracile” - great discription I wouldn’t have thought of. Yes, I had the 1.4x attached and wasn’t using the built in 1.25x. First time I tried that combo in the field. This was shot at 50 FPS with CAF+bird tracking. I was amazed at how 98% of the shots were in focus on the birds face.
Two things really impress me - the fact that you’ve caught eyes of both osprey and fish, and, secondly, the way the background is beautifully blurred and without a skyline.
Hi Steve, nice head on catch! Great point of view and nice to see an osprey with a full fish - I usually get them with the fish’s tail taken off as that is the first thing they do once perched. I don’t think it is over sharpened. Well done.
Funny you should mention the fishes tail being removed. Early this day I watched and Osprey devour a fish from head to tail, and when he got to the end he swallowed it tail and all. He’s probably been watching too many Herons.
