Eagle with Dinner

A week ago, I was in 80 degree weather.  Today, 40 degrees, 8 knot winds and drizzle.  The only difference, about 1,000 miles.  I'll get back to South Carolina.

Today, I had an invitation to see an Eagle's nest in Clarkston, Independence Oaks County Park.  Can't pass that up.

Did I mention the weather was pretty crappy?  All of the sky shots will end up being deleted.  Anything eye level or lower, or with a dense tree in the background turned out OK.  And in reality, I'll be back there when the sky is much better - someday.

But we did have a few moments of excitement when one of the parent Eagles hit the water for an un-suspecting catfish and departed for the nest in what seemed to be one move.  I missed the business end of the bird and fish, but did get the water takeoff.  There is a fair amount of distance involved, so the cropping is fairly aggressive.  Won't win any prizes, but looks good on the monitor.

A bird and a fish.

All photos were taken with the D6/200-500 f/5.6 combo, 1/1,000 sec, f/5.6 and ISO between 2500 and 3600.

Bell UH-1 and AH-1 from MAGTF (MCAS Beaufort)

The 2023 photo season for me opened up with a stellar airshow in Beaufort S.C.  This is the second time I've attended the show.  April is the perfect time to escape the winter of Michigan and get some sun and warmth.  The 2021 show was cancelled due to Covid - so the last show was 2019.

This year's weather didn't disappoint.  Mid 80's with a broken deck.  Thunderstorms factored in to the show, but late in the afternoon.  The final act, the Blue Angels had to end about 15 minutes short when lightning moved into the area.  Still, a very good show.

While the Blue Angels were the headliner, for me I wanted to see the MAGTF event.  In 2019, I took one of the best helicopter shots in my journey, up to that point.  Good photo, but lots of room to improve.  The four year wait was worth it, as the show was bigger and better with more active participants.

MAGTF is the Marine Air-Ground Task Force.  The force is comprised of a variety of response options, coordinating teams of ground, air, logistics, and cyberspace assets under a central command.  Planes, trains and automobiles.  Almost.  In this case - airpower.  The participants for this demo was fighter aircraft and helicopters.

For me, I concentrated on the Bell UH-1 Iroquois and the Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopters.

In my opinion, the helicopter photography is very challenging.  Very slow shutter speed.  And a relatively heavy lens.  The only saving grace, if any, is usually a slow and predictive motion.  In reality, only about 5 to 10% of my shots were useable.

Bell AH-1 Cobra

NIKON D6 Ver.01.51 /NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/80 sec, f/20, ISO 100 (Auto)

EV 0, Speed Priority, Size FX

Bell UH-1 Iroquois

NIKON D6 Ver.01.51 /NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/80 sec, f/20, ISO 100 (Auto)

EV 0, Speed Priority, Size FX

Bell AH-1 Cobra

NIKON D6 Ver.01.51 /NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/80 sec, f/20, ISO 100 (Auto)

EV 0, Speed Priority, Size FX

Bell UH-1 Iroquois

NIKON D6 Ver.01.51 /NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/80 sec, f/20, ISO 100 (Auto)

EV 0, Speed Priority, Size FX

Bell UH-1 Iroquois and AH-1 Cobra

NIKON D6 Ver.01.51 /NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/80 sec, f/20, ISO 100 (Auto)

EV 0, Speed Priority, Size FX

Bell AH-1 Cobra

NIKON D6 Ver.01.51 /NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/80 sec, f/20, ISO 100 (Auto)

EV 0, Speed Priority, Size FX

The shutter speed for the rotors, both main and tail, makes the photo.  There has to be some blur, but you also have to see the blur.  The UH-1 photo from Thunder over Michigan was shot at 1/60th second.  The tail rotor is barely visible.  And the main rotor is just visible.  In most of this year's helicopter shots, the tail rotor is more visible - and some overlap.  (If I remember) I may use 1/100th next outing.  Or not.