So close, and yet not close enough

04/24/2004 03:28:06 AM · #1

My wife and I took our boat out for some salmon fishing on the Columbia River today. We saw lots of Sea Lions; one with a large lure hooked into its chin, and huge flocks of geese flying overhead, and some hung around our boat too. In the morning the clouds dropped down to water level and poured rain so hard you couldnâ��t see 10 feet in any direction. Minutes later the came out and the day got very nice. I took several photos of geese, Blue Herons, and scenery. In the afternoon my wife spotted a Bald Eagle circling over our boat, so I grabbed the camera and zoomed in. It was very high, but I kept tracking it with the lens. Suddenly it stopped soaring and began changing directions quickly and dropping lower. I took one shot as it folded its wings, and another just before it hit the water and grabbed a fish out of the river. I took another shot as it flew up from the water, and one more before it disappeared behind the trees. I was very excited, at least until I saw the photos. We were too far away, and the camera had somehow been set for â��1 Â½ exposure compensation! I have never used the exposure comp setting on my camera, and my wife swears that she never set it either. Oh well, we were still too far away for my lens. With the right lens and enough sense to check the camera settings I could have had some great photos.

--Mick

Natator

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

04/24/2004 03:43:47 AM · #2

That is a real shame, they might have been sensational shots :(

Those pics, especially my favourite of the eagle just above the water, will tidy up a fair deal in PS though ... but not enough to give them their full potential :(

Have a play with levels in particular.

dacrazyrn

Nikon D300

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

04/24/2004 07:21:11 AM · #3

Still pretty damn cool though. Just getting the chance is worth it and to see them "at work." I was following one around my area here in CO (there are suppose to be 22 along the Platte River corridor here), but he/she was much to happy yo just soar on the thermals, perpetually out of range. They always sneak up on me when I am shooting something else, too. No time to change camera settings quick enough.

kreybar

Nikon D70

04/24/2004 07:21:17 AM · #4

OUCH ! #2 hurts me just lookin' at it ! Now might be a good time to hit the wife up for that new lens ,lol. Ditto on the levels and hopefully this might be a favorite spot for that eagle .

mikasi

Canon EOS-20D

Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II for Canon

04/24/2004 09:03:50 AM · #5

I know what you mean. I freelance for a little weekly paper taking pictures of animals, old people and kids (the very stuff of community newspapers) and have missed many a shot simply because the kids did something so bizarre that my jaw dropped when my finger should have snapped the shot.

My favorite recent missed shot had nothing to do with work, though. I was outside last full moon trying to get a shot of the moon for a project. One my 9th shot, right after I had gotten the exposure correct I had just focused when something obscurred my view. A jet had just flow past the moon, it's silouhette played beautifully for just a split second across the bottom right quarter of globe. Again, my jaw dropped when my finger should have snapped.

I doubt I'll ever learn.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

04/24/2004 10:44:15 AM · #6

Originally posted by kreybar:

OUCH ! #2 hurts me just lookin' at it ! Now might be a good time to hit the wife up for that new lens ,lol. Ditto on the levels and hopefully this might be a favorite spot for that eagle .

Yes, a good 600mm lens would have been nice right about then. I don't think there is a good time to hit the wife up for one of those though. :)

This spot (Prescott Beach, Oregon) has been a favorite fishing hole for my friends and me for many years. Over the years we've seen several Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons taking fish, but it isn't something you can really plan on happening. When it does happen, it's usually too far away to get photos. If I had been fishing on the beach with these people instead of in the boat I might have taken some very good photos with the gear I had. The boat wouldn't have been rocking, and I might have even been using a tripod!

Thanks to everybody for the comments! We're going out again in a few minutes. Maybe I can get better shots today. :)

--Mick

jimmythefish

Canon EOS-10D

04/24/2004 11:47:21 AM · #7

The rear control wheel can easily be bumped...and that's what controls exposure compensation. I sometimes turn the rear wheel control off with the top on/off switch when I know I don't want to use it. Shooting in RAW has saved me in the past, giving an extra stop or so in exposure control at either end.

grdSavant

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF 300mm f/4.0L IS USM

04/24/2004 02:05:20 PM · #8

Originally posted by micknewton:

My wife and I took our boat out for some salmon fishing on the Columbia River today....With the right lens and enough sense to check the camera settings I could have had some great photos.
--Mick

What a major thrill when you do catch them just right. I have a few like these you shared, and I don't care, it is still fun to see the eagle's strike, even if a little "soft". 600mm: a fast, used f/2.8 70-200mm lens with a Kenkeo 300 Pro 3x teleconverter gets you right there at f/8 600mm, affordably. Well, that's my theory. Especially the afordable part. I ditto on shooting RAW. There's a lot of detail that can be saved/pulled out of them. --jerry

04/24/2004 10:57:52 PM · #9

Originally posted by jimmythefish:

Wow, you're right, the rear wheel does control the exposure compensation. This camera is new to me, and I haven't used the other modes much. I've mostly been using it on manual. This thing has so many bells and whistles, I really should spend some more time learning all of its features. Thanks for the info!