Tuesday, March 11, 2008

A Chance Encounter




As the evening photo shoot at Lake Parker began to near to a close, my Dad was photographing an egret on the banks of the lake. About 60 yards away from where he was shooting, was a concrete dock that I had ventured out on to take in the peaceful view of the massive body of water. The air was cool and crisp and there were only a few small waterfowl in sight. There weren’t many humans in sight either, except for Dad and I.

As I stood there, looking out on all the glorious nature in front of me, I began to pray under my breath to God. I was thinking of all that He has been doing in my life and all that He has given me. I began to tell Him of how He was the “Master Creator and Artist”. “The Master Writer of True Stories”, for He has been writing my story and I asked Him to continue to do that. Little did I know that God was about to write something very surprising into the script of this particular evening for Dad and I.

It wasn’t long until my Dad finished photographing the egret and we started the journey back across the park to our vehicle. Not far into our walk, we began to hear a man shouting something. At first, I didn’t think that he could be shouting at us, but then I noticed his hand motions to get our attention. We soon realized that he was saying, “Hey, there’s an eagle over here!” He kept on repeating this and waving his hands like a mad man at us while hiding behind a tree. As we approached (with caution), the man kept on saying, “Do you see it? It’s right over there!” I was beginning to really wonder if this guy, who was around my age, was crazy. We soon noticed a bird on the ground though, behind some trees in front of the lake, about 20 feet from where the man was standing behind his tree. His “eagle”, was actually an “osprey”, as my Dad quickly realized and pointed out.

As we came up on the scene, we readied our camera’s and began shooting this rare sight. The osprey was just sitting on the ground on top of some nesting material. After a couple shots, I moved in about five more feet. Then, I decided to get a different angle and went around the trees to the opposite side of the osprey. At first, I was 15 feet away…then 12...then I laid down on the ground about 7 feet away to get an even better angle of this raptor. My Dad was still firing with his camera on the opposite side of the bird, about 20 feet away. Soon, I carefully got back up from the ground and began to make my way in front of the bird, placing me about 6 feet away from him. Before I could get a shot off though, I saw his massive wings begin to spread open. Upon seeing this…I ran, for fear that I was about to be attacked by an osprey at Lake Parker. As I passed by my Dad, I heard him say, “it’s ok, he’s flying the other way”. With this action, the male osprey was saying, “enough is enough” and took to the skies, leaving his nesting material behind.

My Dad then said, “at least we now know he wasn’t injured”. We thanked the man who had gotten our attention after seeing us with our cameras. He knew that he was probably going to look crazy, but he took that chance anyway. We were glad he did. As we headed back to the car, we knew that we had shared a very special moment that night. Why the osprey sat there so long while we photographed him is beyond us, but it wasn’t long until I remembered what I had said to God moments before that event; He is “The Master Writer of True Stories”.

He wrote a good one for us that night.


…you can see my Dad’s side of this story by visiting his photo blog, Country Captures“.

32 comments:

Catherine said...

WOW!! I just left you're dad's Country Capture's!! You guys..what fantastic captures..how exciting! What a team you two make! :) Fantastic story, and fantastic shot's!
Cat

Michele said...

What a beautiful bird in a beautiful setting... fantastic story!! That is amazing!
The Rocky Mountain Retreat

Stacey Olson said...

Great photos guys and it is fantastic that you could share such a special moment together. I am sure it will be one of those moments, sharing passions that will stay with you both always..

Willard said...

Chad,
What a great story and photographs! I have taken good video of Ospreys, but have never gotten a good still photo or got that close to one!

Mr. Mapper said...

isn't it awesome how God always provides a story at just the right time!

Anonymous said...

This is an amazing bird and that you got this close is wonderful. That beak is mighty. I am so glad the bird was not injured.

gaz said...

what a fantastic story.
thanks for sharing this moment with us dude.

Tom said...

Fantastic encounter.

Jose said...

Wow, what a terrific experience. I truly enjoyed your narrative too.

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

i can never thank a stranger enough when she/he comes to my aid in whichever way.....i mean, you expect your friends and family to...but a stranger's thoughtfulness always leaves me speechless........

and yes, beautiful images of a beautiful bird :)

~Brenda said...

What a wonderful account of your evening with Dad! The Osprey pictures are detailed and very impressive!

photowannabe said...

Isn't God amazing? He's the Master Creator, Master Artist and the Master Author.
Thanks for sharing an intimate part of your self and these fantastic pictures.

PA Brian in PP,FLA said...

Awesome pictures Chad they belong in a magazine or calender somewhere
maybe your Dad could hook you up!!
You never see an Osprey this close
once in a lifetime is right!
As Benjamin would say SWEEEEET!!!

Shionge said...

I am thankful for 'The Master Writer of True Stories' too coz I was given an opportunity to share your joy & wonderful pictures of this chance encounter.. :D

Lori said...

I think it's so neat that you and your dad share this passion for photography. My favorite of your photos is the one from behind with your dad in it. They are all amazing.

Kekiinani said...

Awesome captures and love the story. :) : )

Blue Wave 707 said...

Great bird shots ... especially the close-ups.

Kerri Farley said...

Wow! What a wonderful experience to share with your Dad and your Heavenly Father! AMAZING!

AND Awesome Shots too!!!!

Nestor Family said...

What an example of how amazing God can be, eh?!?!? Incredible photos and story... very cool. (Off to see your dad's shots now.)

Thanks for sharing.

danne said...

WoW!!!

Sand said...

What an amazing experience!

DigitalShutterMania said...

I love your bird photos. They are stunning : )

lv2scpbk said...

This is wonderful. You have some great photos here. Glad it wasn't injured.

Anna said...

That is awesome Chad! Great shots. I love that you and you dad are doing this together as well...how special that is for you both! How are you there down in FL?

Wolf Lover Girl said...

As I mentioned on your dad's blog - Incredible!! You have some outstanding shots!!!

~ Wolf Lover Girl

Gabriella said...

I like the pic with your dad and the bird. him taking a pic of him that is a cool shot.

Roland Simmons said...

Good thing you got out of there man. It would have been "Attack of the Killer Osprey" all over Utube. You know someone had to be around with a video recorder.

Laurie said...

Wow! Beautiful photos and beautiful story.

Ospreys are becoming fairly prevalent in the marshes of far south west Jersey but they are still elusive.

Ash said...

Wonderful images Chad!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Chad: I did stop over when I was at Salty's blog to see your pictures which I think are fantastic. Thanks for sharing the great story of the shoot.

kjpweb said...

What a great encounter. Seems to be a youngster, that you ran into. (Still pretty fluffy). An adult wouldn't have let you get that close! And - as all kids - he probably was also curious! :)
Great shots!
Cheers, Klaus

Anonymous said...

So cute! Love this little creature! What a find!