Richard Distlerath
April 2026 - Mom with Chicks
About the Image(s)
This image was taken very early morning in the FL Everglades on March 28th, 2025. The chicks were very noisy in the tree calling mom back to the perch. It ws easy to spot these birds.
The OM 1 Mark 2 with 150-400 Pro captured this image at a focal length of 195mm, 1/2000sec, f4.5 and iso 1000. In restrospect. I could have doubled my shutter speed for a pinch more sharpness in the osprey flying in. Nevertheless I still like the moment captured.
The image was imported into LR where I increased the exposure, reduced the highlights, lifted the shadows and increased the whites.
Best wishes,
Richard
3 comments posted
Debbie Porter
Nice story telling moment and good wing position on incoming bird. I would probably increase the brightness and sharpness of the incoming bird's eye and crop a little off the bottom. Posted: 04/13/2026 00:41:03
(Groups 2 & 3)
This captures a very dynamic moment, in nice light. The fact that you have three individuals is a plus, and the nice sharp open wings on the incoming osprey also adds a lot.
Obviously, we would prefer for the immature birds to be looking into the frame/ at their incoming parent. If you have a frame from your series where one or both are looking toward the camera or in the other direction, that would be great.
Playing around, I flipped the image horizontally. This brings the leading lines of the branches into a more favorable space, and it has been shown that subjects moving from right to left in the frame appear to be approaching the viewer, more than when facing the other direction. See what you think.
Lillian Posted: 04/13/2026 08:19:36
Obviously, we would prefer for the immature birds to be looking into the frame/ at their incoming parent. If you have a frame from your series where one or both are looking toward the camera or in the other direction, that would be great.
Playing around, I flipped the image horizontally. This brings the leading lines of the branches into a more favorable space, and it has been shown that subjects moving from right to left in the frame appear to be approaching the viewer, more than when facing the other direction. See what you think.
Lillian Posted: 04/13/2026 08:19:36
Deborah Albert
I think the horizontal flip is definitely stronger and would work on the eyes of all of them as the parent's need to be brighter and the chicks' more orange. Also, I think all of them could be a tad brighter. Super shot. Posted: 04/15/2026 10:53:03