Osprey Power Dive: Quite unexpectedly, to me, this osprey showed up at a local golf course lake and gave me a wonderful opportunity to finally get a shot of their power dive to catch a...

bluezzzzz Loc: Stamping Ground, KY

Quite unexpectedly, to me, this osprey showed up at a local golf course lake and gave me a wonderful opportunity to finally get a shot of their power dive to catch a fish. Ultimately he was unsuccessful, but it wasn't for lack of trying!

This was the crop I put up to our birder Facebook group. I may back off a bit and try different aspects for a final print. Also, Topaz Sharpen AI using the "focus" mode was a great help for this extreme crop.

Osprey_CBGC_03Aug2020 by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

Here is the original image:

DD0A4275A by Marshall Smith, on Flickr

I shot for as long and as fast as my camera would go, and have the entire sequence from the semi-hover to the dive, the splash and water struggle, and finally the flyaway afterwards without the fish. One poster to the birder group said that only about one in seven osprey dives is successful.

I'll try to put together a Flickr album showing more images of the action sequence and will post the link.

Marshall

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

WOW! This is cool.

Gabyto

bluezzzzz wrote:

Quite unexpectedly, to me, this osprey showed up a... (show quote)

I love this bird is so awesome please add all the pictures of the entire dive. Also what equipment were you using?. Great job

bluezzzzz Loc: Stamping Ground, KY

Gabyto wrote:

I love this bird is so awesome please add all the pictures of the entire dive. Also what equipment were you using?. Great job

Glad you liked it, Gabyto! If you click on the link below the photo, Flickr shows a lot of info.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +1.4x III
ƒ/8.0 560.0 mm 1/1600 ISO800

Marshall

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

bluezzzzz wrote:

Quite unexpectedly, to me, this osprey showed up a... (show quote)

Gabyto

bluezzzzz wrote:

Glad you liked it, Gabyto! If you click on the link below the photo, Flickr shows a lot of info.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM +1.4x III
ƒ/8.0 560.0 mm 1/1600 ISO800

Marshall

I have almost the same equipment the only difference is that I have 80D and 6D. I am thinking of going for the 5D IV. I have a question for you. What is the maximum distance that you get using the 1.4 iii extender. I used it with my 80D, but I only get 560mm.
Thank you

gabyto

bluezzzzz Loc: Stamping Ground, KY

Gabyto wrote:

I have almost the same equipment the only difference is that I have 80D and 6D. I am thinking of going for the 5D IV. I have a question for you. What is the maximum distance that you get using the 1.4 iii extender. I used it with my 80D, but I only get 560mm.
Thank you

gabyto

With the 100-400 at 400 and a 1.4X extender, 560mm is the maximum possible. I tried a 2X but couldn't live with the noticeable image degradation.

I'm pretty well maxed out on kit, especially since most of my efforts are hand-held.

I expect to finish out my days with the 5DmkIV. Was hoping to get a MarkV but looks like that is not going to happen.

Word is that mirrorless is the wave of the future...lol!

Marshall

Gabyto

bluezzzzz wrote:

With the 100-400 at 400 and a 1.4X extender, 560mm is the maximum possible. I tried a 2X but couldn't live with the noticeable image degradation.

I'm pretty well maxed out on kit, especially since most of my efforts are hand-held.

I expect to finish out my days with the 5DmkIV. Was hoping to get a MarkV but looks like that is not going to happen.

Word is that mirrorless is the wave of the future...lol!

Marshall

I am not getting any canon mirrorless for a while. The issues on the R5 and R6 is not a laughing matter. I am very happy with my old gear producing beautiful pictures.