My first Osprey

[Laurence Griffiths]

I have only been taking photos of birds for the past two years or so and using the Merlin app to help me identify the birds. I have seen and photographed most of the birds in my local area, but I can't remember ever having seen (or noticed) an Osprey. Last Friday, on my local camera club's "Coffee & Camera" walk across the low tide causeway-like sandbank across to King Island, I saw this large bird (which I didn't recognise) flying past. I already had my camera set for bird (Bird recognition switched on, very high shutter speed) and so I flung up the camera and trusted on luck. For once in my life, I found the Oly 100-400mm lens to be a bit short and I had to crop the image quite a bit.

But this is what I got..... My first Osprey (or at least that is what Merlin tells me it is). Just a pity it was flying away from me. But I suppose you can't have everything. Even the greyish sky was the result of a not-quite-burnt-off mist.

Osprey by Laurence Griffiths, on Flickr​

 

[Brian Moore]

That's a darn good shot if you ask me, Laurence. Wings up,...eye in focus,...top and underside feathers defined. That he's flying away does not bother me in the least. I'm no birder but I'd be happy with such a shot.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

As Brian said...

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Yes, I’d definitely be happy with that one. And it is refreshing to view the bird flying away. It happens!

 

[Peter Roberts]

A magnificant shot, Laurence.
The muted sky sets off the bird nicely. As to it flying away from you, as Rob says, it happens. Usually at least 50 percent of the time I've noticed

 

[Gary R. Smith]

Great shot Lawrence!

I found the Oly 100-400mm lens to be a bit short

I have the PL 100-400 and I'm thinking of getting the M.Zuiko 300/4 pro and a TC. I feel like the PL 100-400 is somewhat soft at 400.

 

[Tony Britton]

Nice shot! What an intensely beautiful bird!

 

[Laurence Griffiths]

Nice shot! What an intensely beautiful bird!

Thank you. I was lucky to catch it.

 

[Laurence Griffiths]

Great shot Lawrence!

I have the PL 100-400 and I'm thinking of getting the M.Zuiko 300/4 pro and a TC. I feel like the PL 100-400 is somewhat soft at 400.

I also had the PL 100-400 and agree that it was a bit soft towards the long end. The Oly 100-400 is sharp the whole way through the range. I have played with the 300 f/4 PRO. It is a great lens, but I prefer having the zoom available. The Oly 100-400 is only f/6.3 at the long end and so is fairly slow. I usually use it fully open and choose shutter speed to suit with Auto ISO. This usually means that I have to resort to using noise reduction software. When using this lens, my usual workflow is ORF file -> DxO PureRAW 4 (noise reduction and lens correction) -> DNG file -> Capture One Pro (further editing) -> JPEG file. That is really processor-heavy and uses quite a bit of disc space. But I have a very high spec MacBook which can handle it.

PS: Have you given any thought to the OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-600mm f/5-6.3 IS Lens?