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Birds of Prey Workshop

 

Over the pandemic we picked up bird photography and have been enjoying getting out and seeing what we could capture.  We have shot the backyard Finches fairly regularly, a couple of Great Horned Owls on our neighborhood walking path, the Bald Eagles at Barr Lake and on the Platte River trail including Egrets and Cormorants  and the ducks at Arbor Lake in Arvada.  Bird photography is challenging.  The birds are far away and they move around a lot.  I have the biggest glass FujiFilm offers at 100 - 400 mm at F4.5 - 5.6.  As a landscape shooter, a big telephoto lens was never my first choice, I am a super wide angle girl.  I have to say after using this big boy for a year now I am really enjoying it.  The image stabilizer that is built into the lens makes it possible to shoot handheld and I still get really sharp photos.  I am not a fan of lugging a tripod around and furthermore, I find them limiting.  I can see if you are in a blind trying to get some game or larger animals a tripod may not be a hindrance, but for me, I need that freedom to move around. 

After months of practicing out in the wild we decided we were ready to take the Mikes Camera workshop on Birds of Prey.  Best day ever!  They have 6 birds for us to shoot, courtesy of Hawk Quest. They  are a wildlife refuge for birds of prey and hold events throughout the year.   Along with 60 other fellow photographers we had the opportunity to view and shoot these amazing raptors.  The best part was, we could get really close for those awesome shots I just cannot reach in the wild.  The birds were set up in stations in the Bare Creek Lake Park in Lakewood for their first photoshoot of the season - no mask required. 

Camera: FujiFilm XT3 / 100-400mm

Harris Hawk


Great Horned Owl

Barn Owl

Barred Owl

American Kestrel

Bald Eagle


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Location: Bear Creek Lake Park, Lakewood, CO, USA

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