Robert Anderson, Eastern Osprey with Luderick (LANDSCAPE & ENVIRONMENT 2026)

Eastern Osprey with Luderick – I’ve photographed ospreys at this location many times over the past few years and always hoped to capture an image like this. The heavens aligned on this day. I had positioned myself where I had watched ospreys at eye level gaining lift off the cliff updraft. They were flying very close to me. It was late afternoon winter sun – soft, low in the sky and golden. I was about to leave when I saw an osprey catch a fish a few hundred metres away. I waited, checked my settings, and then it suddenly appeared round the cliff edge. It was soaring on the breeze, rising right past me, wings and feathers fully outstretched, looking straight at me, with both sets of talons locked into the luderick. Even the fish seemed to have one eye on me. For me, this is a very special photograph which is why I have submitted it to the Capture Awards 2026.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.