PERCHED ON HIGH

This proud predator was ready and waiting for his close-up!

My favourite type of photography genres are nature and portraiture; for me, nature images are very similar to portraiture, especially street photography. The only di erence with nature photos are that the subjects tend to have four legs, two wings or a tail! They rarely hold a pose when asked, or strike the particular pose requested by the photographer.

Although I cannot claim to be a “birder,” I do enjoy capturing pics of some types of birds, especially large ones such as bald eagles. They look so majestic, elegant and powerful—particularly in flight.

The bald eagle is not commonly seen here in Perth where I live, but is very common on

Canada’s West Coast, where I love to travel. I spent some time in Masset and Old Masset in Haida Gwaii last summer. While there, I had ample opportunities to “shoot” some bald eagles, both adults and juveniles.

While driving along in Old Masset, I saw this bald eagle (left) perched high in a Sitka spruce on the edge of the road. Of course I stopped my car, got out and started to take some pictures.

The eagle looked down at me as I looked up at it. I was hoping it would take flight but it didn’t. We watched each other for perhaps 20 minutes. I was using a teleconverter lens (used to magnify subjects) as I like my bird subjects to be up close and personal—as if I was shooting a portrait of a person.

This impressive bald eagle was perched high in a Sitka spruce tree.