Breathtaking photographs of Colorado osprey and the tales of connection behind them

FIRESTONE, Colo. – This story began when this author occurred upon an epic composite picture displaying an osprey – a big chicken of prey – diving into the water at Colorado’s St. Vrain State Park.

But telling it led me to satisfy two photographers who taught me a lot greater than the best way an osprey finds its subsequent meal.

Behind the photographs is a narrative of dedication to a craft, a deep love of nature and of making significant connections.

Winslow Robbins Photography

Studying the topic

The ponds at St. Vrain State Park are usually stocked with fish, together with trout. This makes the park, situated about 30 miles north of Denver in Firestone, a scorching spot for osprey.

And, thus, it’s a terrific spot for photographers and chicken fans who wish to see them.

“One of the reasons that it is really cool for us photographers is [the osprey’s] method of hunting,” mentioned Winslow Robbins, the photographer behind the dive sequence picture in query. “It does this really beautiful kind of circular, soaring pattern.”

Once it spots a fish, an osprey will dive at excessive pace – as quick as 50 mph – into the water to pluck the fish out.

“So the whole goal is to try to get the sequence of them coming into the water, hitting the water, and getting out of the water with a fish,” said Anita Wooldridge, a wildlife aficionado and loyal user of Denver7’s Discover Colorado | Through Your Photos group on Facebook. “A lot of people want to get the exact moment they hit the water, which is a real challenge.”

Anita Wooldridge Photography

It’s a problem accepted by this pair of photographers – and met with nice dedication to finding out the topic.

“It’s actually the perseverance and going out and doing it every single day for size of time,” Anita mentioned. “Sometimes you watch and don’t even take a photograph for a while. Other times, you see patterns that develop over time, and then you’re able to make a better choice of where you position yourself.”

Winslow said he’s invested months in observing ospreys to refine his skills at photographing them.

“It took me probably four years of every single year spending a good solid two months trying to learn their habits […] to finally get a series of images that are really high quality,” he mentioned.

‘What I do is share a story’

A wide ranging set of photographs within the digicam roll or displayed on-line isn’t performed only for bragging rights. These two photographers each informed me it’s their manner of storytelling.

Anita is a self-described “serious hobbyist” slightly than an expert photographer. She has a level in oceanography and began out in underwater images earlier than the mountains got here calling.

She mentioned she makes use of the medium to create connection between the viewer and the surroundings she loves so dearly.

“What I do is share a story. I want to make people have a connection to what I photograph to present some type of emotion, whether it’s sad or happy or whatever,” she mentioned. “But I really feel if individuals see an animal or a state of affairs, it provides them buy-in to assist shield that surroundings and that animal.”

Anita Wooldridge Photography

Winslow began his skilled images profession doing individuals images: Weddings, portraits and industrial shoots. He mentioned he beloved telling individuals’s tales in a candid manner – and wished to use the identical ideas to photographing the pure world, displaying how animals work together with their environment.

“I feel there are loads of nice classes that most individuals can study from the pure world,” he mentioned. “[I want to be] able to capture them in ways that pique people’s interest and make them want to learn more about the natural world and our place in it and the things that we can learn from it.”

His goal to capture the dive sequence was rooted in teaching one of those lessons.

“I wanted to tell the story for people who may not see the full picture of what osprey hunting looks like,” he mentioned.

Winslow spent the spring taking pictures osprey dives at excessive pace. The remaining merchandise he shared with us is the results of as many as 20 pictures blended collectively in a single body to point out the method of a dive from starting to finish.

Winslow Robbins Photographer

Colorado’s images neighborhood

This pair spoke of a “wild, rugged beauty” in Colorado and its distinctive environmental circumstances that host a variety of plant and animal wildlife.

It makes our state a photographer’s dream, and plenty of share the eagerness for exploring it.

As it seems, Anita and Winslow had met and developed a friendship years earlier than they stepped in entrance of my digicam at St. Vrain. Anita mentioned comparable connections are frequent within the wildlife images neighborhood.

“It’s a community that, for the most part, people will share and are very open, and you try to help each other out, because you all want to share a story,” she mentioned. “We want you to embrace what’s out there, and if you share it, then people care about it.”

• This story initially aired as a part of a Denver7+ particular presentation, Discover Colorado: Wildlife tales. Watch the complete episode within the video participant beneath: