Homer Bald Eagle Trip, need Photo Advice!!!

[chris_alcock]

I am taking a trip to Homer AK, to photograph the bald eagles. I have read

The Eagle Lady about Jean Keene, and read an article by Joseph Van Os photo

safaris about a trip there, but have had a hard time finding anymore info. I

am looking for advice on best time to go (Feb? March?), technical advice (do

I need a polarizer? Bright enough?), hours to shoot, anything that may help.

I have lived in Alaska for 5 months during the summer, but never been there

before May or after September. Help! Thanks.

[ken_c1]

Chris,

I went to Homer the first week of March last year. The later you go, the more daylight you will have. My understanding is the eagles begin to leave in April. Incredible experience, you won't be disappointed if you are looking for wild eagle shots with beautiful mountain backgrounds. Typical wildlife shooting using early morning and evening for best light. We had snow several days. My suggestion would be to bring appropriate clothing (some days started as low as -14) and hand warmers for keeping your batteries charged. If you want further details contact me by email.

Ken

www.kencongerphotography.com

[mark_chappell]

I'm pretty sure that the eagle feeding operations in Homer are out of business. The town

passed an ordinance recently that banned all eagle feeding, although I believe they

'grandfathered in' Ms. Keene. However, she's getting on in years and I think she may have

decided to give it up (it was a lot of work).

 

Someone with more local knowledge will have more details and can correct me if I'm wrong.

[matthew_green]

Chris,

 

Jean Keene was grandfathered in to the city ordinance and she is allowed to continue feeding the eagles until 2010. I am not sure if she has chosen to continue. I assume she is, but as Mark pointed out, she is getting older at 82 I am not sure if she still is.

 

All the best,

 

Matt

[jimstrutz]

Just got an email from a friend that went to Homer in early January. Jean Keene was feeding the big birds then. He estimated about 100 of them were scrapping over the fish, and as is typical of this experience, getting close was not a problem. Also typical is the warmer weather and increased daylight in March. February can still be pretty brutal. But then, at the moment temperatures are pretty mild in the southern half of the state.

[sandor_a._feher]

Get their early, before daylight break.

Don't use polarizer, you need all the max. speed for your camera

Wait and sit in your car, you can run engine for warming.

Have a window pod or sandbag that you can install on your window, shoot out from your car (stop motor). Park against the logs that will get you a good view towrds the house and the perchiong trees.

Stay in the Lands End, great place good food.

[frank uhlig]

In my part of the world, there are many avid quail hunters. But as luck and urban build-up would have it, wild quails have died out around here. So every local quail hunter first stops at the store before going to the field to get a couple dozen barn raised quail.

 

When out in the field, he/she lets them go free, then releases the bird dog to point at the obvious and the so called "hunt" begins. Pathetic.

 

Sounds exactly the same with Homer, eagles and Mrs Keene. Shame on our quail slauterers around here. Should I have the same ill feelings with your completely un-natural shooting attempts?

 

When your shots are taken from a idling noisy car, from a well described spot next to the wood pile ....

 

Is nature photography not supposed to mean just in the WILD? The same as what hunting is (or was, maybe) supposed to mean. Or do I just sound mean regarding these staged and highly perfunctory shoots (with gun or lens).

 

Anyway, your desire with Mrs Keene sounds very pathetic to me. But go out there and do not feel revulsed (hope you can manage to stay cool) when you see the staging for your WILD shoot. Good digestion!

[eajames]

Frank is correct - this is not wildlfe photography. This situation on the Homer Spit has provided the world with many beautiful images of bald eagles; I've been there myself on a number of occasions and I will probably go back - they are beautiful birds and they are fun to photography, but it is a control situation, mostly. The world had enough images of dirty-faced eagles perched atop upside down dead trees, but you may want to take some for your collection!

 

Sandor has good advise - except, IMO, Land's End is a dive. Stay in town at Two Sister's and eat your meals at Cups.

[kevin_railsback1]

So all the elk photographed in Yellowstone isn;t wildlife photography either since they feed

them at the elk refuge? Well for that matter, anything in Yellowstone shouldn't be

considered wildlife photography since they're in a 2 million acre zoo. What happens when

a bison leaves the park? It gets killed.

The wolves are collared so they can't be considered wildlife photography.

 

Many safari's in Africa are set up around waterholes and the wildlife has been habituated

to people so that can;t be wildlife photography.

 

I've had people tell me that Tom Mangleson throws chunks of lard out into the snow to get

polar bears where he wants them so that can't be wildlife photography.

 

Why does there have to be some undue hardship or suffereing endured for it to be

considered wildlife photography? Are these eagles kept indoors at night? Does she let

them perch on her finger like a parakeet? Of course, this is wildlife photography.

 

Cut the guy some slack. Sheesh!

[jimstrutz]

Frank's sentiment is a lot of the reason why eagle feeding has been banned in Homer. But Jean Keene has been allowed to continue for the time being.

 

But continuing along Kevin's argument; what about photographing birds or animals in any urban setting, or attracting birds with a back yard feeder? They are wildlife, and they can often be shot to make it look like they are in the wilderness, but are they natural? Is there anywhere untouched by man? Where do we draw that line?

 

In the past, many of the best "wild" bear images that came out of Alaska were taken at the town dump. Can't be done any more, but the point is many purist photos really aren't that pure from a "wild"life standpoint. I agree that there seems to be a difference between these situations and purist nature photography, but I think the primary difference is in our minds. Personally, I just like the pretty pictures.

 

Did you know that bear baiting (setting out garbage feeding stations) is still legal in parts of Alaska? Is this really hunting? The commercial guides still sell them as hunting packages, and people still pay for them. Go figure.

[mark_chappell]

<I>Cut the guy some slack. Sheesh!</i><P>

 

Agreed. Frank is entitled to his opinion but he expressed it with such sourness that I

assumed he'd chugged a pint of vinegar or was having an argument with a kidney stone.

And I'm still trying to come to grips with the assertion that photographing some wild but

human-acclimated eagles is the moral equivalent of shot-gunning farm-reared quail.

[ken_c1]

I'm usually a lurker and don't usually comment, but Frank's analogy is absurd. To compare hunted pen released quail to photographers capturing images of wild eagles coming in to acquire some supplemental food is ridiculous. I believe in the integrity of a wildlife photograph and only shoot wild critters, nothing caged, in a rehab center or game farm. Jean saw a food need for the eagle population in Alaska during a stressful period of the year and had a ready food source. She insists that photographers remain in their vehicles so as not to disturb the eagles when they arrive. Frank we better not see you photographing from the bus at Denali, or from a vehicle at any National Wildlife Refuge loop or any National Park!

[sandor_a._feher]

Just in the wild! No artificial feeding or posing.

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/3864037

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/2195535

[greg s]

"Should I have the same ill feelings with ____"

 

Fill in the blank for Frank... so much to choose from, so often. How about some good feelings for a change of pace? Try it.

[arthuryeo]

Sandow,

 

What lens were you using for the couple of eagles at Winthrope? I recalled the ones I saw there were extremely skittish; particularly, towards humans with a long lens.

[sandor_a._feher]

I don?t remember, I was using Fuji Finepix S2 with an 80-200 Nikon or Canon with a

50-500mm Sigma. I must look the Exif file for pinning it down.

 

All this action was front of my dining room through the window. I live in a peculiar area

where I get deer kills. I have somewhere around 80 deer around my front door during the

winter time so it isn?t difficult to get great photos.

[arthuryeo]

Cool, Sandor. Thanks for responding. I have driving thru the Methow Valley a couple of times and I love that area.

[don_grall1]

In my opinion, the difference between photographing and captioning a photo as a wildlife photo or as a controlled animal, revolves around one point. Does the animal subject have the choice?

 

In other words, is it being restrained from leaving through either typical animal training (ie. falconry, zoos,professional animal trainers) or from obvious bars, fences, chains, straps,etc.? Or can it run or fly away at its own choosing whenever it decides to do so?

If it is the former description, then it is controlled or captive. If it falls in the latter description, it is wildlife.

 

Remember, this is my definition of wildlife, you are free to define your own.

 

I have photographed in Homer, and for a brief period years ago, photographed controlled or captive animals for advertising purposes. Although the eagles in Homer have learned that food is easily available to them, they are free to fly anywhere there avian brains decide to go.

 

Don