THE BEST LOCATION TO PHOTOGRAPH OSPREY?
The osprey has been known by many names, including fish eagle, sea hawk, and fish hawk. When you witness how adept they are at capturing their prey, you’ll understand the fascination with this subject. They are a dynamic species to say the least, offering photographers a plethora of behaviors from which to capture. You don’t have to fly to Scotland to experience the best place to photograph osprey. We have an incredible spot right here in the USA! Just remember to bring extra batteries and a lot of memory cards as you’ll be doing a lot of shooting. Capturing 5,000-10,000 images per day is a normal occurrence.
We scouted several locations to host our osprey photography tour with this in mind, but nothing came close to comparing to Florida. The Vero Beach area offers the most comprehensive set of opportunities for a photographer looking to capture photographs of osprey. Whether you are looking to capture nesting activity, hunting, an osprey in flight or all of the above, this is the best location to do it. The timing of our tour coincides with migration patterns and nesting activity to help each photographer scratch items off of their osprey shooting checklist.
While it’s not the only stop on our agenda, Blue Cypress Lake offers tremendous opportunities for photographers and is a primary focus of our tour. With an estimated 300 nests positioned near its 21-mile circumference, the opportunities are limitless. Unlike the man made nests that sit atop a steel platform, the nests found at Blue Cypress Lake are extremely photogenic, offering photographers a chance to capture the birds in their natural setting. We’ll also focus on other locations that provide our clients with additional photo ops related to this subject. Osprey adjust their fishing technique depending on the body of water so we’ve planned this tour around capturing both opportunities.
The osprey’s behavior is what makes it an exciting subject to photograph. When hunting in deep water, the osprey will survey from up to 100 feet in elevation. When a fish is spotted, the bird will reach speeds of up to 80 mph, violently plunging into the water as it submerges itself at a depth of up to three feet. When fishing in shallow waters, they adapt by capturing their prey much like a bald eagle does. The osprey’s oversized talons are its primary tool and extremely effective at capturing prey. During flight, they turn the fish so that it is facing forward in order to minimize wind resistance.
Pack your sunblock and join us in Florida for a tour focused on this magnificent subject!
THE SHOT LIST
You want to capture some great photographs. We can help.
OSPREY CLOSE UP
An effective focal length of 500mm should be plenty to capture frame-filling images of osprey during our tour. With an estimated 300 nests at one of our shooting locations, you’ll have ample opportunities to add to your portfolio.
OSPREY NESTING
It takes a bit of patience and luck, but with 300 nests at one of our shooting locations, your chances of capturing an osprey during nest building activity are good.
THE UNEXPECTED
Birds can be… well… strange birds and osprey are no exception. They might stick their tongue out after a good meal or drag their feet in the water to clean them. Just be ready!
OSPREY IN FLIGHT
Nice, sharp flight shots are one of our first goals of this tour. If Mother Nature is kind enough to provide the right wind direction and blue sky, you’ll probably end up deleting some great flight shots in favor of better versions.
OSPREY FISHING
Perhaps the best thing about photographing osprey is capturing their hunting behavior. They are a truly exciting and dynamic subject that should be on every wildlife photographers to-do list.
BONUS SUBJECTS
FLORIDA IS AN INCREDIBLE PLACE TO PHOTOGRAPH WILDLIFE. HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF THINGS THAT WE MIGHT SEE IN THE AREA.
DAY ONE AGENDA
We will try to use Mother Nature to our advantage, using the morning session to capture osprey diving into the Atlantic. After a brief intermission, we will head to Blue Cypress Lake to meet up with our boat captain to photograph Osprey during their nesting activity. This is also a great opportunity to capture images of nest building, flight and hatchlings.
DAY TWO AGENDA
Heavy emphasis on flight and diving shots in the morning. In the afternoon, we’ll give you the unique airboat experience, allowing us to gain access to the osprey’s premier fishing ground. Unlike the action witnessed during out ocean shoot, Osprey change their fishing technique when hunting in shallow water. This can provide photographers with an opportunity to capture images of them utilizing a fishing technique much like that if a bald eagle. If the participants are interested in capturing photographs of bonus subjects like roseate spoonbills, herons, snowy egrets and a few other potential visitors, we’ll stop by a rarely visited site that is known only by the locals.
DAY THREE AGENDA
For those who book a third day in advance, we’ll repeat the activities from Day 1 or 2, depending on your schedule. This provides each photographer with an opportunity to learn from their first couple of days in the field. Osprey are a very challenging subject so a third day is highly recommended. We might have to schedule a “gap” day to align with your shooting preferences.
CAPTURE BREATHTAKING PHOTOS.
IMPROVE YOUR TECHNIQUE.
HAVE A GREAT TIME.
REPEAT!
While our main focus for this tour is to send you home with dynamite images of osprey for your portfolio, we have other goals in mind for each client. Sending you home with great photos might not improve your ability to capture them in the future unless we deliver the information in a way that helps you retain the information. During his 20+ years as a corporate trainer and director, AJ was fortunate to learn several techniques to make this happen. Whether you’re a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner, we will take advantage of each learning style to ensure that you take home more than just great photos.
The third goal is the easiest. In most cases, our clients have traded their hard earned vacation time to make the trip to the Florida. We simply want you to enjoy yourself. While we are heavily focused on getting each client into a position to capture outstanding images, balancing this agenda with a little relaxation is essential.
TAILORED INSTRUCTION
Watching another photographer glow with the anticipation of getting a fantastic shot is tremendously rewarding. We understand that this is a once in a lifetime trip for many, and will do whatever it takes to make it both educational and fun!
CAMERA SETTINGS
Understanding shutter speed, aperture, ISO and focus settings can be daunting and has caused many to put down their cameras for good. We will cover each of these items in detail and continually review camera settings throughout the week. This will be a constant source of discussion. Putting these concepts into practice is the best way for it to stick. We will also discuss some resources that can be used in the future to increase retention.
COMPOSITION
What impact can the tried and true "rules" for landscape photography have on wildlife photography? What role does wing placement, head position and perspective have on your outcome? Great shots often sit unnoticed on hard drives until we "see" them with a fresh perspective. We will discuss the image assessment process as it relates to photographs of osprey.
IN THE FIELD
Our main focus will be capturing photographs in the field. That said, involvement is absolutely critical to learning, and putting your new knowledge into practice is essential for retention. We want you to take stellar photos, whether it's during this workshop or after you return home.
THE ROLE OF LIGHT
Summer light is plentiful but the direction can be downright brutal unless the right steps are taken. There are methods to managing this challenge and we will continually analyze and discuss it in detail. Special attention will be paid to establishing your Window of Opportunity as the conditions change, as they often do.
OSPREY IN FLIGHT
The right body movements, position and other nuances are critical for improving your chance of success. This workshop will cover all of the above and more.
ABOUT
YOUR
GUIDE
Photographer and author of the book The Photographers Guide to Bald Eagles, AJ Harrison has spent close to 30 years working on his photographic technique. His award-winning work has been recognized by publications such as National Geographic, Popular Photography, Forbes Magazine and The National Wildlife Federation. One of his photographs went viral in 2016 with over 8 million views.
Serving as a corporate trainer and director for one of the largest furniture manufacturers in the United States, AJ is able to combine his experience in public speaking and training to provide the highest quality instruction to other photographers in a workshop setting.
In 2017, AJ published his first book, titled The Bald Eagle Book for Kids, which he created to be as visually appealing to adults as it is educational for children. He is currently working on two additional books that are scheduled to be published in the coming months.
While bald eagle photography is his specialty, AJ has also been recognized for other subjects. He was named as a National Geographic Top Shot Award Winner in 2016 for one of his brown bear photographs. All of his photos are captured in the wild.
RESERVE YOUR SPOT
QUESTIONs?
If you have questions about the workshop or planning your trip to Florida, don’t hesitate to contact us directly using the information below.
Call us
(319) 400 7929
Contact us
AJ@AJHARRISONPHOTO.COM