Erik Rosengren, FPSA, MPSA
July 2026 - Royal Tern Mating
About the Image(s)
How I did it??”We were at the North end beach at Ft DeSoto, watching a male Royal Tern catch a fish, then bring it to his mate. She was playing hard to get and not interested in his gift. He turned to leave then she crabbed the fish and the fish tug of war began. My tools for the day, OM1 Mark 11 attached to an OM f 4.5 100-400 lens, monopod mounted. My settings were f 8, auto ISO at 1600th of a second. I have been shooting this island for 26 years and it has never let me down photographically, no matter the weather.
7 comments posted
Erik, I must say not yet. Still in foreplay. The way things go is that if the female accepts the fish, will allow him on top, or sometimes, he would be already on top while she accepts the treat. The image is sharp, and I like the diagonal line created by the sand and by the birds. Posted: 07/02/2026 15:34:19
Nice action image that tells a story. Thought it was 2 males at first. Whites are not blown out and blacks are not crushed-you got the exposure right and got catch lights in the eyes. I am enjoying the image. Posted: 07/03/2026 01:59:53
Hi Erik
Yet again right man right place what a fabulous piece of wildlife interaction you have captured,the positioning of the birds bodies clearly shows how much effort is being used by each bird superbly exposed great D.O.F.so no distractions from the main subject pin sharp,fabulous image. Posted: 07/06/2026 11:21:50
Yet again right man right place what a fabulous piece of wildlife interaction you have captured,the positioning of the birds bodies clearly shows how much effort is being used by each bird superbly exposed great D.O.F.so no distractions from the main subject pin sharp,fabulous image. Posted: 07/06/2026 11:21:50
Hi Ian, thanks for your in-depth critique. I hope you are some judging in the U.K. as your understanding of what it takes to produce a strong image. Your talent would be so helpful to so many. Best, Erik Posted: 07/07/2026 18:27:16
This is a strong behavioral wildlife image. It captures a fleeting moment that many photographers never see, and the interaction immediately tells a story. Everything is sharp and well defined. Ideally this would be much better if the camera and the photographer were down at the birds eye level but I realize that at our age getting down there isn't the problem. It's getting back up. Posted: 07/09/2026 17:07:48
This is a strong behavioral wildlife image. It captures a fleeting moment that many photographers never see, and the interaction immediately tells a story. Everything is sharp and well defined. Ideally this would be much better if the camera and the photographer were down at the birds eye level but I realize that at our age getting down there isn't the problem. It's getting back up. Posted: 07/09/2026 17:07:48
Erik, this is quite a ritual and I had the opportunity to capture a similar one at the marshes in Ohio several years ago. I will comment on something that maybe nobody else picked up on and that I know is difficult. On these terns you were able to not only capture them in this ritual, but you did it in a way that showed the black eye within the black mask. To me that is a mark of perfect camera set up. Well done! Posted: 07/11/2026 13:34:47