It all started back in 2013 when I saw jaw-dropping images of bald eagles in all kind of aerial actions, taken by a wildlife photographer friend, Conrad, in Seabeck, Washington. I was envious enough of his images to want to hop onto the next flight to the Evergreen State, but unfortunately, I had to wait for the next season of the plainfin midshipman fish migration to Seabeck as they are the main prey for bald eagles.
The following year, I made my maiden trip to Seabeck, organized by another keen photographer friend, Thinh Bui. Before the trip, Thinh thoroughly researched the best time for photography, i.e. morning low tide to take advantage of the lighting and when the midshipman will be stranded at the beach, drawing an optimum number of bald eagles. That is the time the bald eagles will have a big feast.
The eagles most definitely did not disappoint us. They swoop their favorite prey while some put up a fight, bullying those with a fish in their talons. What a scene it was and everyone was happily clicking away.
That Shot!
Since the eagles were in action all along the beach, we each went our own way in search of our targets. As I was tailing one of the eagles, whose undivided attention was on the water surface for an easy midshipman, a crow approached from behind, about 25 feet below the eagle.
In my five years capturing raptors and birds in flight, I have witnessed crows aggressively harassing other raptors that are much bigger in size in their territories, and usually these ‘intruders’ simply retreat without much fuss. It was absolutely mind-blowing when the crow did not appear to harass the bald eagle even at such close proximity and neither did the bald eagle seem to mind the crow invading its personal space.
What was even more amazing was when the crow briefly perched on the back of the eagle as if it was taking a free scenic ride and the eagle simply obliged. It was a sight to behold and I was delighted to have captured over 30 raw files of the sequence as keepers. Here’s a composite images of three shots of the sequence.
As usual I posted my shots on Flickr and 500px and it did not draw much attention until I was approached by Michael of Media Drum who published the images on Daily Mail News. To my surprise, the images went viral overnight … thanks to the power of social media. I have never received such international exposure for my work prior to this. The images were published in various media in more than 20 countries, from America to Europe to Asia and all the way down south to New Zealand. I was delighted to see the images shared and liked 36,000 times in NatGeo Facebook.
“It was most definitely a wonderful and satisfying experience for me even though it was only a one-week-fame sort of thing.”
It was interesting to read varying comments from many viewers. While many complimented the images, some simply said outright they were Photoshopped. Several comments were hilarious, for example, Jeff Hamada tweeted “I CAN DIE HAPPY. my fav tattoo has become reality. a crow riding on a bald eagle!!” while displaying a picture of his tattoo of a crow with a cigar riding on a bald eagle.
Since the shots went viral during July 4th week, the infamous crow and eagle pair were symbolized into many different perspectives putting politics at center-stage. It was most definitely a wonderful and satisfying experience for me even though it was only a one-week-fame sort of thing.
All My Other Shots
The recognition I received for crow/eagle shots have inspired me to share my experiences. I prefer to photograph action shots handheld as it gives me better flexibility to follow the moving subjects rather than having the camera on a tripod. I would go with a monopod when lighting is less conducive.About the Author: Phoo Chan is a talented birding photographer and 500px member whose work has been published in various publications including National Geographic magazine and the latest National Geographic Complete Bird of North America (2nd edition) book cover page.
This article originally appeared on the 500px blog.
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