I stayed home the last 4 weeks, so I was able to accomplish some serious photo editing.  It has been hard work, but also fun reliving all of last years’ amazing adventures and discovering some real gems that I missed during my initial edits, like this bald eagle portrait.  I photographed this majestic bird during my Haines Bald Eagle Photo Tour last November.  My 3 clients all had a great time, learned a ton, & came home with some real keepers.  I already have requests from several people to go back this November.  Since I will not take more than 4 clients on my trips, space will be very limited.  If you are interested in joining my trip, please contact me.

Seriously, how did this image get on my memory card?  Full frame, no cropping, clean bokeh, & a perfect composition!  I am only averaging 6 opportunities each day to track a flying eagle.  This just goes to show you that you have to keep trying until you get it right.

I am having a great time with my 3 clients in Alaska on my bald eagle photography tour.  They are learning how to be real wildlife photographers.  The weather conditions are making it challenging to shoot.  There is a foot of snow on the ground and the skies are very dark.  There also aren’t as many eagles around this year.  However, between my 2 cameras, I still captured over 1000 frames today.  I have yet to capture a great eagle in flight shot, but I am trying.  So far, this is my favorite image.  This eagle posed for me for almost 20 minutes, which was enough time for me to get into a position for a clean bokeh background.  To complete the shot, all I had to do was wait for him to disapprovingly glare at me.

Eagles are surprisingly difficult to get close to in the wild. Sure, I have been only a few feet away from them on a boat dock while someone was cutting up a salmon, but to get close to them in a more natural setting is very difficult. They spook very easy, and when I am on the water, they can see me coming from a long way away. These 2 posed long enough for me to get a few shots with the nice blurred mountain background before they too took flight.

Please visit more of my Bald Eagle Photography.

One of my favorite new bald eagle images has been awarded 3rd Place Mountain Flora & Fauna in the 2008 Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival Photography Competition. I captured this moment while visiting the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska last fall. I approached this eagle through the woods and got down as low as I could on the ground to capture the perfect background blur behind it just as it called out to another eagle flying overhead.

Please visit my Nature Photography Awards page to learn more about my award winning nature photography or visit my Bald Eagle Photography page to see more of my bald eagle images.