Osprey with a fish
This is for the weekly challenge “on the move”. General feedback appreciated
Shutterspeed 1 /5000
ISO 800
F /6.3
I realize I should probably have reduced the ISO and lowered the Shutter speed
Processed in Lightroom
Sarah, what a great capture to have this osprey in flight. I like the sharpness in the eye and the ample space you left on the left-side of the image. That gives a viewer room to see the direction of motion without any constraints. Regarding your comment, I don’t see that a lower ISO would have helped. I personally do not see any significant noise or any at all. Lowering the shutter speed could have given more motion effects, but on the other hand, what you have is pretty much frozen in mid-air. Ideally, it would have been nicer not having the osprey wings clipped at the top of the photo. I know, however, that catching wildlife in motion is not always easy. You have captured a good moment and story in your photo.
Thanks so much, I really appreciate your feedback.
Sahah; I don’t think the 800 ISO is a problem, especially since the out of focus wing feathers on the outside wing at f/6.3 tells me you must be shooting with a full frame camera. Also, 1/5000 is a good thing if you’re trying to stop the action without blurring. Was this a prime lens where you couldn’t zoom out a bit or was it just a one shot grab that happened too fast to get the whole bird in the frame? It helps me better understand the image if you provide a little more information on the hardware used during the shot. I think the detail, colors and exposure are very good but the clipped wings and tail feathers unfortunately don’t work for me. If you have a zoom lens and are following a bird in flight I have found that you can zoom in and out even as you hold the shutter button down without losing focus. That also gives you more opportunity to frame the bird plus you have more shots to pick from. In fact I usually start out wider which makes it easier to get the bird in the frame to begin with and then zoom in as I follow the bird.
Thanks Gary,
I was shooting with crop frame - Nikon D500 and had a 150-600mm zoom. It happened very fast and I was zoom in considerably and didn’t have time to zoom out. I actually have a few shots with the full bird, but it is centered and I know that doesn’t adhere to the rule of thirds. But maybe you’d prefer it.
The full frame view is nice and is a stronger image than the first. The trailing foot reveals that this osprey is working hard to get that fish back home. The blue sky could be desaturated slightly for cyan if so desired. I have a lot of difficulty getting blue skies to look right and the color is very close to ideal. I think that the second image is awesome…Jim
Excellent, Sarah! I definitely prefer this version! The rule of thirds is always a good suggestion but the bottom line with wildlife (or people for that matter) is that they appear to be entering the frame and have somewhere to go. It’s more about the whole body rather than just the eyes, especially on a tight frame. In this version I think the composition is just right plus I really like the added bonus of the trailing grasses which, to me, adds to the story because it tells me things that I can’t get otherwise, such as the fact that the fish was in the shallows & weeds when the Osprey grabbed it. Also, since you were shooting with a crop camera the more likely reason for the OOF back wing would be that it focused on the tip of the forward wing during that particular shot. This version is almost the reverse, where the back wing is sharper than the forward wing. I doubt the differences are due to motion at 1/5000. I have stopped hummingbird wings at 1/3200.
The second version is definitely a keeper 
Thanks Jim, I really value your feedback.
I love this second image. Not only do you have wings without any crop, but you also captured the small branch with the small bird in its entirety.
Thanks so much.
