Washington DC part 1

It's been a long, long time since I posted anything, mostly because I spent the winter taking a french class which took all of my free time. Over the Memorial Day weekend we went to Washington DC. It was fun but really hot and steamy.

The White House, this was with a telephoto lens, they keep people pretty far away.

WWII Memorial.

Washington Monument from the WWII Memorial.

Candle light vigil at the Wall.

The moon raising over the Lincoln Memorial.

Lincoln Memorial from the WWII Memorial. The reflecting pond is current closed to rebuild it.

We spent an afternoon at the Zoo, it was so hot and so crowded it was hard to enjoy. This is a red panda. the giant pandas along with most other animals were hiding in the shade to stay cool.

We checked in the hotel, parked the car and didn't move it again until we headed home. Spent the whole weekend traveling around on the DC Metro.

Bald Eagles - day 3 part 2

The rest of the photos from the last day.

Looking across the Mississippi River to the Illinois side.

I found the photos where the feathers are in the sun light had the most detail.

The photos where the birds were backlit by the sun lost all detail in the wings.

Dam 14 in the background.

Lunch, sushi anyone?

This and the next 5 are one continuous shoot that took about a second. Each pass was very similar. Swoop in, flare just before they hit the water.

Reach down and grab.

The wings both reach forward for one powerful stroke to pull up from the water and take off.

Flay way and find a comfortable tree.

Relax and eat lunch.

Bald Eagles - day 3

We started the last day with an hour talk by an expert in photographing eagles, he had lot of useful hints and information that helped greatly. I ended up many more good photos than I did the first 2 days.

One of the few times I saw two eagles flying together.

Coming in for a fish.

This and the next 6 photos are all one continuous sequence of a bird coming in a catch a fish.

Reaching for a fish.

Missed, you can see the fish splashing back into the water.

This and the next 7 photos are one sequence, 6 frames per second.

Talons forward and ready to strike.

Fish in talons and taking off.

Looking down to check his catch.

Flying off to eat lunch in one of the trees.