Spent another morning at Conowingo Dam trying to get a few photos of eagles. A bit more successful this time! It is still totally amateur hour for me. But, at least this moment, I was pretty happy to get any kind of photo at all. There were about 75 other photographers there...an interesting mix of amateurs, pros, bird watchers, camera geeks. It is pretty wild to see some of the kit that people are sporting. Lots of big glass.  I managed only a few reasonably good shots, but also some butt shots, too far away shots, and lots of shots of other birds. While I enjoy going there, it really isn't my gig. I like moving too much. Sitting or standing around all morning gets pretty dull. But, when there is action, it is a blast to watch and photograph!
The Sony a99 is great for all sorts of my shots so far, but it was clear that it was struggling with fast-moving eagles. It wasn't so bad when there was just one eagle, but when they start fighting or chasing each other around, the tracking gets a bit messy. It also couldn't focus on many distant shots. To be expected - focusing on a moving brown dot with a brown landscape behind in low light is not ideal.
I also didn't shoot in burst mode. Just shot at the 8fps setting rather than the telezoom 11fps mode. To be honest, I didn't even think about it until the drive home.
I doubt I'll go again this year. Too cold and too much sitting around. But it will be an annual visit during peak eagle season. And I'll certainly travel back in warmer months for landscapes and other bird photography. So far, my favorite trips to that location were during the summer and early fall, even though there isn't all the eagle action at that time.
