Sea Eagles

 Remember my gear talk from yesterday?  Today we added a vinyl body suit to the mix to protect us during our sea eagle hunt this morning.  We boarded boats equipped with two two rows of padded seats with metal pieces that will serve as handles for the ride.  We mounted up like getting on a horse, pulled on our hoods, and off we went.

Surrounding the larger islands the sea is dotted with smaller rocky islands which serve as resting spots for our prey for the day, Sea Eagles.  After a brisk ride, we stopped to chum the water with frozen fish to entice them close to our boat.  Circling the sky they spot the fish and swoop in to grab them with their powerful claws.  Beautiful creatures, they move quite fast which makes them very hard to photograph.








We wondered around the different island groupings getting soaked by blowing rain.  The body suites actually kept us dry but our hands and cameras were a different story.  We all came back with frozen hands, also testing the waterproofness of our gear.

Svolvaer is a small town with few restaurants and a cruise ship in port.  An early lunch on our way back seemed like a good idea.  While not an expansive menu, the burgers were great and the beer cold.




With a couple of hours before our class, we selected photos for our second class critiques.  With 20 photographers on the trip, critiquing everyone in one session seemed impossible.  We were presented with some lovely images and used them to explore how we can improve our photography.

This evening we took our cocktail hour on a catamaran which cruised to an area we had hoped  to have a view of the Northern Lights but nature was again working against us.  .Cloudy sky skies and rain obstructed any view of the open sky.  Upon returning to the dock a  group found an open pizza place for our dinner.

Tomorrow: One More Shot at Northern Lights

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