How often do you find yourself taking a shot of a subject with the wrong lens? If you are an opportunistic wildlife shooter like I am, it happens pretty regularly.
At this time of the year, most of the time I have a macro lens on my camera and I focus a lot on insects. Earlier this week, I was attempting to photograph a dragonfly with a 100mm macro lens when I heard the squawking on an approaching bird. Thinking perhaps that it was a hawk, I raised my camera and clicked off a series of shots as the bird flew by on the other side of a small pond.
Imagine my surprise when I looked at my images and realized that the bird was actually a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). There is something really special about Bald Eagles and I am thrilled every single time I see one.
Even with a crop sensor camera, a 100mm lens is not the right lens for shooting birds in flight at a distance, especially against a background of trees. I am posting a couple of shots simply to show that it is sometimes possible to get recognizable images of cool subjects even when the conditions and equipment are not optimal.
The images are also a reminder to myself to keep shooting and not wait for the perfect conditions to come together. If I wear out the camera, I can always get another one.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
You know the old saying “the best camera is the one you have with you” I guess that applies to lenses too. It may not be the best shot you could have taken, but pictures of Bald Eagles in flight are always good. These are great shots.
I’m in definite agreement, Dan. I would have loved to get a shot of the eagle that filled the viewfinder of my camera (instead of having to crop the image significantly). As Wayne Gretzky, the famous hockey player, said, “You miss a hundred percent of the shots that you don’t take.” For me, any shot of a bald eagle is good and one in flight is a real bonus.
Wonderful post!
Well done, Mike. A similar thing happened to me last week….macro lens on camera and a red kite flew nearby. Unfortunately the kite was too far away to capture a big enough image.
Unless you want to carry 3 cameras or a lens with such a great zoom range that resolution and macro capability suffer, just go with what you have. It often works out better than expected, as it surely did for you here.
I take landscape shots in macro mode because I’m forgetful, but it works. I think any shot of an eagle is a good one.
I have to agree with you, Allen. I’ll try to get a shot of a bald eagle every time that I see one!
Very impressive, it was certainly worth taking a shot. Amelia
I think it worked very well. I would have thought the shutter speed might be too sloe to capture a bird in flight, but it looks like that wasn’t a problem either. Did you get a new macro lens? I thought yours was a 180 mm.
Thanks, Sue. My original macro was a Canon 100mm. I used it a lot during my first year of shooting, but ended up having to send it in for repairs. Since then, I shot almost exclusively with the Tamron 180mm when shooting macro. I have recently gone to alternating between the two macro lenses. The Canon seems to focus faster and more quietly, but can’t match the Tamron’s reach.
How beautiful, Mike. I have only ever seen a bald eagle in the wild once (with no camera!), so I think the pictures are just great. How thrilling.
It is definitely a thrill to see one in the wild. Most of the times that I have spotted them, they have been soaring high in the sky–this time I was really lucky to get a useable shot.
still good to snap away.. the other day I had a large square tailed kite just about sit down next to me after circling over head and I had left my camera at home! silly me.
It’s always fun to see the beautiful birds, but somehow the excitement is magnified for me when I manage to get a photo.