I skipped the newsletter last month while we were getting ready for the trip to Homer, Alaska to photograph Bald Eagles. The problem I will have this month is narrowing down the list of pictures to just a few for the newsletter. All of the better images will have been posted to the site as of this email so you can go to www.bmckain.net to view them. All of the Eagle images are available for sale on the site since I added a merchant account to accept credit card purchases. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express. Images are only available up to the maximum resolution they will support. Orders are processed within 24 business hours and shipped to your address. I am unable to support framed art at this time so the price is for the raw print ready for you to frame. In addition we offer 3x5 greeting cards and desktop wall papers. Over the next few months we will be adding other images for online purchase so you will want to check back often—and be sure to tell your friends! As of this newsletter, eagles, bears, moose and bison have been updated for sale.

Back to Homer. The eagles were just incredible. I kept a log on this trip to remember the details and one of the most common comments from Fran and I both was “WOW!” Before I start on the eagles let me mention the mountains. They are everywhere and you look past one range to see another and past that is another and another and another. There just seemed to be no end to them. It is like having Mt. Rainier, the Tetons and the Alps all in one range and having multiple ranges of them. If you have not been to Alaska and you like mountains, go; you won’t be disappointed. This is the sunset from Seward for an example. Be prepared for weird sunrise and sunset patterns.  We chased sunsets the entire time we were there and they never happened when and where we expected them to.

Seward – Kenai Mountains

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 28-105 at 45 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

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ISO 100 - 1/15 Sec @ F11

Before telling you about the eagles, I have to tell you a little about the opportunity. Homer is on the Kachemak Bay with a five mile spit extending out in the water. Jean Keene, 83 years old now, has been feeding the eagles for the last 20 years or more. She started feeding injured birds and the word got out amongst the local eagle population. Just to give you an idea of how many there are, on the fourth day I tried to count them and I lost track around 225. That is in less than a quarter mile stretch. The image below is well past the feeding time but there are around 25 birds in this picture.

Eagles – Lands End, Homer Spit

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 70-200 w/1.4 extender at 280 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

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ISO 400 - 1/1600 Sec @ F11

Feeding time lasts about two hours and the weather is very unforgiving. On day three, the batteries on the camera were freezing up and I had to keep recycling them by putting them inside my coat next to my body.  After the shoot Jean told me it had been minus thirty with the wind chill. The wind was gusting up to about 80 mph that morning, even the birds looked cold as this picture attests.

Eagle – Lands End, Homer Spit

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 70-200 w/1.4 extender at 280 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

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ISO 400 - 1/160 Sec @ F5.6

Well, enough with the social studies and on with the pictures. The rest of the images will be a few of my personal favorites mixed with a little tidbit here and there about what I learned on the trip.

The color in this image really struck me, this is near sunset and the sunlight bathed the feathers in an unearthly red glow.

Eagle – Lands End, Homer Spit

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 70-200 w/1.4 extender at 280 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

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ISO 400 - 1/500 Sec @ F5.6

This early morning landing captures the quintessential Eagle from the prey’s eye view.

Eagle – Lands End, Homer Spit

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 70-200 w/1.4 extender at 210 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

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ISO 320 - 1/1000 Sec @ F5.0

Imagine these birds flying in from the far side of the bay every morning in squadrons. This view with the mountains in the backdrop was common though not easy to capture due to the odd light angles and the limited places to pull up a tripod and wait. Jean only allows a few in her tiny backyard which is the prime location.

Eagle – Lands End, Homer Spit

Canon EOS-1D Mark II - EF 70-200 w/1.4 extender at 280 MM
Color Space - Adobe RGB - 16 bit

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ISO 400 - 1/2000 Sec @ F6.3

Seeing eagles up close in flight, like this one, was very inspiring.