Osprey Carrying Spanish Moss Nesting Material in Flight

We didn’t have “perfect” weather during my recent Ospreys Galore workshop in Florida — and I wouldn’t change a thing.

This is a male osprey (no brown necklace) bringing Spanish moss back to the nest. We saw this behaviour repeatedly during the trip. Once chicks hatch, nest maintenance becomes constant — in and out, all day long.

Spanish moss is everywhere in the cypress trees around Lake Blue Cypress, so it’s the go-to material. If you watch long enough, you start to see the pattern — leave the nest, grab moss, straight back in.

And there’s a reason for the urgency.

Before the chicks learn to back up and send everything over the edge, the nest gets messy fast. Fresh material helps keep things under control, and the adults stay on top of it.

What I like here is the background.

Most people chase a blue sky. I’ll take this “battleship grey” every time. It isolates the bird, shows the shape, and lets the detail in the wings — and that trailing moss — stand on their own without distraction.

Lake Blue Cypress holds one of the highest densities of nesting ospreys in Florida — hundreds of active pairs in a relatively tight area — which is what makes behaviour like this so repeatable if you put the time in.

No tricks. Just set your manual exposure for the light falling on the subject, pay attention, and be ready when it happens.

Osprey displaying with Catch in Golden Light (Pandion haliaetus, Balbuzard pêcheur, Águila pescadora, OSPR) from my Ospreys Galore Workshop at Lake Blue Cypress near Vero Beach, Florida, USA. Image copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony a1 Mark II Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Lens @610mm ISO 1,000, f/8 @ 1/5,000s. Manual Exposure mode. Full frame image. Join me for my Ospreys Galore workshop every April. To learn more, CLICK HERE.

Testimonial

“This was my 3rd workshop with Chris and as always Chris improvised to make it happen for us.  Anyone who photographs outdoors and especially wildlife knows that weather and lighting are key to having good results.  We can’t control the weather but we can adjust to the lighting we’re given.  What Chris did on all three of my trips is adjust to both of these for every morning and afternoon shoot.  The Osprey trip was a perfect challenge - the first two days wind and storms prevented us from being on the lake to photograph the ospreys so Chris shifted our location for both the morning and afternoon shoots to minimize the weather impact of rain and wind.  Not to say we didn’t have to wait out a deluge of rain for an hour but 20 minutes after it blew by we were back out for the last 45 minutes of perfect light. For the first two days we got to shoot a wide variety of cranes, spoonbills, egrets, storks, anhingas, limpkins, ibis, hawks, swamp hens, terns and stilts.  Both days we were treated with the brilliant roseate spoonbills flying in towards us to pick up nesting material. But then the prize for me was Friday morning on the lake at sunrise for the osprey. In a mile and a half stretch we saw over 100 nests and at least 150 osprey.   Between Chris and the boat owner they held the boat at the best angle for the osprey to be lit perfectly.  After filling 2-1/2 128GB cards it was time to leave the perfect osprey shoot. In the last 20 years of my photography this was by far the most photos I’ve taken over a three day period.  If you want to get your absolute best excellent bird photography opportunities I highly recommend the Birds of Pelee and Ospreys of Florida.  I own the 300,400 and 600mm lenses but I used the Sony 400-800mm lens for both trips and the zoom capability, excellent stabilization and weight make it the perfect lens for both these workshops.  Thanks Chris!”

- Tony Pianalto Kansas | USA

A fraction of a second and Gone — Osprey with Catch in Golden Light

This is another one of those moments that didn’t last.

At first glance, it looks like this osprey is posing with its fresh catch — wings up, fish in the talons, everything perfectly arranged. It wasn’t. It reacted just as fast as I did when the boat swung around for another pass at the silhouetted cypress trees that were distracting us all.

It landed for a split second, realized what was happening, and was gone.

The light was as good as it gets — that honey gold that makes everything glow and come alive. But none of that matters if you’re not ready. I had already set my manual exposure for the volume of light falling on the subject and wasn’t adjusting it. When something like this happens, there’s no time to think. You either have it or you don’t, so there is a huge advantage to understanding light and exposure.

That’s the whole game: You stay ready, even when nothing is happening, because when it does happen, it’s usually over in a few seconds.

I’ll be honest, I was quietly hoping a peregrine might rip through for the group. Something dramatic. But you don’t get to choose what shows up. You take what you’re given and make the most of it.

And this worked out magically!!

There’s a bit of a three-dimensional feel to this one: the wings, the light, the fish hanging just below the branch. Everything lined up just long enough.

A fraction of a second….that’s all you need - smile!

Osprey displaying with Catch in Golden Light (Pandion haliaetus, Balbuzard pêcheur, Águila pescadora, OSPR) from my Ospreys Galore Workshop at Lake Blue Cypress near Vero Beach, Florida, USA. Image copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony a1 Mark II Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400-800mm f/6.3-8 G OSS Lens @800mm ISO 10,000, f/8 @ 1/5,000s. Manual Exposure mode. Full frame image. Join me for my Ospreys Galore workshop every April. To learn more, CLICK HERE.

Testimonial and images courtesy of George Schlossnagle. (Thanks, George!)

“This is my second workshop with Chris. Chris is a great instructor and a fantastic trip leader. He combines an encyclopedic knowledge of wildlife with more than 40 years of experience photographing it, which allows him to consistently put you in the right place at the right time—with the right guidance—to capture exceptional shots.

Just as importantly, Chris genuinely cares about his participants and their success; he’s always looking for ways to make your experience more productive and rewarding. Florida, in particular, is an incredibly target-rich environment. While this workshop focuses on ospreys (and I came away with many fantastic osprey images), I also left with great exposure to dozens of other species.

5/5 — would absolutely do it again.” - George Schlossnagle Maryland | USA

Image courtesy and copyright 2026 George Schlossnagle.

Image courtesy and copyright 2026 George Schlossnagle.

Image courtesy and copyright 2026 George Schlossnagle.

Image courtesy and copyright 2026 George Schlossnagle.

Image courtesy and copyright 2026 George Schlossnagle.

Image courtesy and copyright 2026 George Schlossnagle.

Image courtesy and copyright 2026 George Schlossnagle.

Image courtesy and copyright 2026 George Schlossnagle.

Image courtesy and copyright 2026 George Schlossnagle.

If you want to put yourself in the kind of situations where moments like this can happen, join me next April in Florida for Ospreys Galore and so much more Workshop. We work the light, stay mobile, and position ourselves where opportunity is most likely — then it comes down to being ready. Small groups (maximum 5 participants), real field time, and the kind of unpredictable moments that make wildlife photography worth it.

Coastal Brown Bear Cub in the Rain — Katmai Alaska Bear Photography Workshop

Standing in the Rain with a Bear Cub — Katmai, Alaska

It had been raining hard all morning.

Not on and off… just steady, soaking rain. The kind that usually keeps people inside.

But not bears.

As the rain eased slightly, they began to emerge — and then this little cub walked out onto the shoreline, completely at ease.

Curious. Relaxed. Unbothered.

And then he stood up.

Not because of us — just to see the world a little better.

Close… but on Their Terms

One of the most remarkable things about photographing bears along the Katmai coast is just how comfortable they are.

We don’t approach.
We don’t pressure.

We let the bears decide.

And when you do that properly, you can be surprisingly close — not just physically, but connected to the moment in a way that’s hard to describe.

Cubs, Mothers, and the Landscape

Cubs face real risk from large adult males, so mothers are constantly making decisions about where to spend their time.

In places like Katmai, where bears are used to respectful human presence, you’ll sometimes notice mothers with cubs more comfortable in those same areas — while big males tend to keep their distance.

It’s not something dramatic or obvious… just part of how bears quietly navigate risk on the landscape.

And when you understand that — and respect it — you start to witness moments like this.

Why This Matters

Standing there, in the rain, with a young bear completely at ease…

You feel it.

This isn’t a zoo.
This isn’t luck.

It’s earned — through patience, respect, and being in the right place at the right time.

Join Me for the trip of a lifetime!

If you’ve ever wanted to experience this for yourself — not just see bears, but truly photograph them in the wild — this is it.

Eight days along the Katmai coast.
A scenic floatplane flight (included) carries us along the stunning coastline to our vessel, where a welcoming lunch awaits before we head straight out to photograph bears that very afternoon.
From that first shoot through to our final morning shoot after breakfast on day eight, it’s complete immersion in bears — living, breathing, and photographing alongside them — before we return to Kodiak.

👉 https://www.chrisdoddsphoto.com/bear-boat-coastal-brown-bears-of-alaska

These are the moments you don’t forget.

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You have helped me become a better photographer

Last week I finished editing my photos from the Alaska Bear Boat Trip, and I have lots of photos that I consider good. After what I have learned in your workshops, I am very conservative to call a photo “good” but can report that I have many more good photos from the trip than I expected to get.

The photo opportunities in Katmai National Park were numerous, the weather was cooperative, and trips to shore resulted in excellent light. You work hard to make your trips productive, informational, and an opportunity to improve one’s photography, and this trip was no exception.

The other participants were courteous and positive individuals with whom it was fun to share travel and photographic experiences. As you know I have been on more than a dozen trips with you and often there are other repeat customers/photographers on the trips. My experience is that the photographers who make multiple trips with you are always individuals with whom it is a pleasure to spend 3-7 days. Many of these people are as interested in my photography as they are in their own, and frequently it is possible to learn from one another. These folks are friends by the end of the trip, and I look forward to seeing them again in the future. The crew of the boat is helpful, the cook is experienced, the bear guide is knowledgeable, and the food is elegant. It was amazing to eat so much good food on the boat considering the limited facilities and space in which to prepare the meals.

This trip is the most memorial trip which you offer. The success of my photography from this trip is a result of the specific organization of this trip but also from the invaluable photographic expertise that I have gotten from your trips in this past. I have and do recommend your trips to other photographers as a fun way to spend time and improve their photography. You have helped me become a better photographer and I am happy to call you “friend”. Best wishes to you and your wife, Julie.

Dennis Stone, Indiana | USA