Let My Tulips Go, he sang

[oregon]

So I'm up in Washington State, along the Kalama River, trying to photograph Osprey while they fish for food for their young. I had some small luck with that but behind me is this beautiful tulip field enclosed with barbed wire and I start to sing that tune to myself, oddly enough...










Success! Fish on.

[StangBang]

Great pics :D Nature is beautiful!

[TheKnifeCollector]

I love Osprey. We have one of two that fly around my house. And last year, there was an Osprey nest in near by woods, where I walk my dog.

[oregon]

Great pics :D Nature is beautiful!

Thank you kindly.

I am glad that you believe that nature is beautiful so I know that you won't mind taking a few pics of the next tornado that blows thru your neck of the prairie! :eek: :D

Driving along this river I thought that I saw a large bird sitting in the top of a dead snag across the river. I stopped and as I got out of the jalopy an Osprey flies above me, about 20 feet up, carrying a fish in its talons. At that point I figured that this was the right spot for some bird watching.

[oregon]

I love Osprey. We have one of two that fly around my house. And last year, there was an Osprey nest in near by woods, where I walk my dog.

Your place sounds like paradise to me. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

Watching one fish: Gliding about 100ft above the surface of the water looking for surfacing fish and then abruptly diving toward the water when just above the surface turning parallel to the surface, skimming the water with its feet, grabbing the fish while flying at great speed, then flying steeply upward to a tree or off to the nest. Exciting in a way that my fishing is not.

I hope you have a photo of these Osprey. I really do.

[SolidState]

Everybody loves osprey until they have to cope them. You know that they have three natural plain-edge spyderhawks and one heavily serrated natural spyderhawk on each foot. Watching them work is always a treat. Do you ever check out the peregrines under the bridges in Portland? Falcons are tons of fun to watch up there. I only get to watch Kestrels around here.

[Jazz]

Nice!! I've accually never seen a raptor grab a meal. I see Bald Eagles, Merlins Harriers, Swainson's Hawks Red Tails, etc., but never in a dive. Lucky you. My first Osprey sighting was... first I heard it, then I saw it up in a tree with a fish. Cool birds. Thanks for sharing.

- best wishes, Jazz.

[spyderHS08]

I am glad that you believe that nature is beautiful so I know that you won't mind taking a few pics of the next tornado that blows thru your neck of the prairie! :eek: :D

[Dr. Snubnose]

hmmm...where's the fish...I'm looking for the fish but I don't see them!!!! :p Doc :D

[oregon]

I was only kidding... Runnnnnn!

Awesome, fierce and the exact kind of thing that has a tendency to place some weakness into my bony knees.

Now was your vehicle going toward that monster?

What a photo. ****! What a picture. My new desktop background, thank you.

[StangBang]

BRO! I remember that day/night.... Pretty freaky man... As wierd as it sounds the massive perfectly circular shape looks like it was hiding a giant UFO :p

[Donut]

That tulip picture looked a little dark, so I wanted to run a couple adjustments on it. It really is a great picture!

[oregon]

Thank you donut.

The colors really hit you right smack dab in the eyes now. Much better. What tool(s) did you use?

You are gonna give folk viewing the impression that there is sunshine in this neck of the woods. Which there isn't. It is gray and dark and damp as far as you can see in all directions and its never gonna change. There is no reason why anyone would ever want to move here... I must have just channeled ex-Gov. Tom McCall, strangley enough. :D

[Donut]

I used Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program), a free graphics program. I just hit Auto Stretch Contrast then adjusted the Levels. When in the levels, there was some control that I've never seen before, you could make the flowers glow. :D

I had to step it back a little bit!

[Donut]

My brother used to live near Oregon. When I was there it seemed fairly nice.

[nuubee]

Great tulip shot, Oregon. Nice light level edit, Donut. Now who wants to jump in with the PhotoShop 'clone stamp' tool, and get rid of the wire fence?

R.I.P., Tom McCall. And Wayne Morse, too. Politicians with whom I might not have agreed with in absolutely all details now, but who acted with honesty and integrity, and who were active in this state's political scene when I was too young and hopelessly naive to know what that was all about.

[mrappraisit]

Oregon - great Osprey pics! They are harder to capture pics of than you think. Hopefully I can get some good pics of Osprey at Big Lake this summer, they always catch more trout than I do.

[oregon]

Oregon - great Osprey pics! They are harder to capture pics of than you think. Hopefully I can get some good pics of Osprey at Big Lake this summer, they always catch more trout than I do.

Thank you for something to look forward to. I will keep my eyeballs peeled for your pics.

Thru the camera's viewfinder I can follow the Osprey while it floats on the wind, lose it when it is in a dive, pick it up again when its claws strike the water/fish, maybe follow it as it flys up and usually I can see it as it flys away with its catch or goes back into soaring mode.

To catch one in a free fall, bullet-shaped, dive toward the water. Ahhhhh. Now that would be sweet. I'll keep trying. Maybe some day.

[SkullBouncer]

Stunningly Awesome photoimagery; thank you very much indeed!

Early springtime rocky mountain weather had me looking up and scanning some photographs of jaunts to nice little hills dead west of me on the Front Rande -- in point, Mt. Evans @ 14253' -- the highest paved 'highway' (read; narrow roadway, thousand-foot dropoffs at spots) in North America.

Will post in a dedicated thread here in a bit, apologizing for the the brief thread hj -- (back to topic) -- and thanks again, oregon / SB !!

[oregon]

Go for it SB. I really enjoy seeing what others see, particularly scenes at the higher altitudes.

Thank you for the kind words.