My Osprey 100% Crops from last weekend - C&C - WHat am I doing wrong?

A1 SERVO not A1 focus ,and as said get closer, always go for the lowest iso that still gives a decent shutter speed 100 or 200 will give the best sharpness/detail.
Rob.

this is just a thought (and I'm probably wrong!), but I wonder if time of day and location might have something to do with the differences in the photos. Here on the Chesapeake Bay, we have to deal with a lot of hazy light, whereas the light in Florida seems to be clearer. If you tried these shots in mid-day or late afternoon, there seems to be lots of haze.

I do envy y'all's ability to take clear photos from boats. Didn't work for me at all!:o

nwyman wrote in post #3621192
this is just a thought (and I'm probably wrong!), but I wonder if time of day and location might have something to do with the differences in the photos. Here on the Chesapeake Bay, we have to deal with a lot of hazy light, whereas the light in Florida seems to be clearer. If you tried these shots in mid-day or late afternoon, there seems to be lots of haze.

I do envy y'all's ability to take clear photos from boats. Didn't work for me at all!:o

Most of the picts are taken either in the morning (from about 6:30am to 10am) or late afternoon/evening (7:00pm to 8pm). That's when the birds on my parents' particular part of the Tuckahoe River seem to be most active. Actually the Ospreys fly all day, but I also want to catch the Bald Eagles in the area (and have yet to get a good shot since they fly so infrequently and on the other side of the river).

My Mom suggested the same thing, saying that I'll probably get much better photos in the fall, due to the fact that there will be less haziness and humidity, also I might actually be able to see where the nests are when all the leaves fall off the trees and actually get back there. Currently, the way by boat is blocked by Tuckahoe plants. So maybe if we have a warm October day, and hopefully by that time I will have polished my skills a bit. Sadly, I doubt this weekend is going to be very good for getting good photos, it's about 99% humidity and in the 90's.

One other thing that I think I might try if I get out there this weekend is removing the UV filter in front of the lens. I'm curious to see if this will make a difference or not.

you might try a shot on a static subject at or aprox the same distance away and check what IQ you get as that will prove the lens is ok for the range your trying to shoot in.
just a thought.
Rob.