I was recently at Morro Bay on California’s central coast. The four-mile bay is a favorite for vacationers from San Juaquin Valley cities of Fresno and Bakersfield to escape the summer heat and enjoy the beach. It is also mid-state situated for Bay area residents to be close by and far away at the same time. A popular activity is to rent a kayak and paddle the calm waters of the bay. I did exactly that on a casual Sunday morning bringing my Nikon D7100 and 80-400mm lens, comfortably situated in a dry bag for protection while paddling. I was on the hunt for large, interesting birds. On a trip ten years earlier, I had seen an osprey so I knew if I looked carefully, I could probably spot one and maybe get his picture.

 On a stake in the middle of the bay I saw an osprey I think was looking for a late breakfast at about 8:30am. He couldn’t seem to get his eyes off the shallow bay waters. I set up a safe and legal distance away, pulled the camera out of the dry bag and waited.

Have you ever wondered how the photographers in the 50’s and 60’s captured amazing wildlife pictures with manual focus lenses?  It turns out their secret is also our secret. They committed to the shot early by pre-focusing on an area within the frame and waited. Using their knowledge of depth of field and the distance scale on the lens, they learned how much space they had to have to remain sharp and keep the background pretty shallow. Pre-focusing the auto focus lens gives us the same advantages. In doing so, you have committed to leaving all the shots that don’t fit into the pre-focus zone, but the reward is going to be more keepers.

This is exactly what I did. I pre-focused on the pole and bird and waited for his move. Where else did I have to go on a lazy Sunday morning? This pelican flew into my focus zone, so I took his picture and continued to wait for the osprey to make his move. Still nothing. From the background I noticed a couple in a double kayak approach the bird from behind and I knew this would be my chance. They got too close and spooked the bird and I was ready. Focus lock was quick, due to the pre-focusing while I was waiting, and by tracking him I never lost focus.

I was looking for a photo of the osprey grabbing a fish and flying away with it in his talons or mouth. Who knows if it would have happened without the other kayak coming into the scene? Even though he flew away without breakfast, he didn’t get away completely.