Bucket List Event

The Back Story

I've mentioned in the past that the East Point Lighthouse is one, if not the favorite lighthouse that I like to photograph.  Even before they repainted it white and the old brick face was exposed.  And when we are there, given the location, I'm not just content with standing next to it to take my pictures.  I like to get it from many angles.  

The parking is very precarious here.  I should make note to take a picture of that the next time.  There is a very narrow driveway from the main road to the back of the lighthouse.  And given the number of visitors on Challenge Weekend the cars line up from the main road to the embankment at the Maurice River/Delaware Bay.  HWNSNBP likes to pull all the way down to the embankment.  And it's a little tricky getting back out to the main road if there's another car coming in.  But he manages.

This used to be an open area to the water with a boat ramp, but the water level has been encroaching on the lighthouse property more and more and endangering the existence of the lighthouse itself so the Army Corp of Engineers has put in these barriers along that beach which is now roped off to humans.

It was after  I had taken pictures with my cell phone of the lighthouse from the back and sides (which I posted several days ago) that I decided to get out my Canon with the zoom lens so we could go back out to the road and down aways to get the front and side views from a distance when it happened.

The Event

I was sitting with the door open on the passenger side with the camera in my hands when I happened to look up........................ and there it was.............

............. an eagle in real life flying over the water right in front of us.  I quickly turned on the camera and started clicking away zooming in as much as I could.  Both of these pictures are further edited to get closer.  It was later that day when I went to use the camera again that I realized that I had it set on macro instead of on sports/action setting that I usually do.  (I seldom if ever use the macro setting with my zoom lens.)

I had gasped and called to HWNSNBP that there was an eagle while I kept shooting.  He in turn, let some challengers who were passing by know there was an eagle and pointed it out.  They thanked him for bringing it to their attention.  

And then I got my distance shots, which would also be a lot clearer if the setting had been right.  

So my bucket list item of getting a picture of an eagle IRL in it's natural habitat was achieved. Check!