Stunning: Photographer Captures Image of Close Encounter With a Bald Eagle

Photo courtesy of Steve Biro

From the archives: This story was last updated in June 2019.

A stunning shot taken by an amateur photographer has been making waves across cyberspace.

During one of his trips to the Canadian Raptor Conservancy, photographer Steve Biro captured a face-to-face magical moment with a bald eagle. He felt it was special and shared it on social media via Instagram and Facebook. However, he didn’t expect it to go viral. The beautiful image has even made it to the front page of Reddit according to BBC.

“He’s squared up perfectly, both wings are touching the water,” Biro said. “That was the one that struck me as [a] little more special than the others. But I still didn’t even know how it would resonate with people.”

However, that wasn’t the one and only time Biro photographed the bald eagle named Bruce. On that day, May 4, 2019, he had taken hundreds of photos of Bruce, according to CBS News. The conservancy where Bruce was kept housed over 200 captive-bred birds of prey. Many are endangered species, and some of their offspring are released into the wild across the world through organized release projects. At the conservancy, photographers can photograph birds in full flight at their leisure.

Biro had taken pictures of Bruce in 2018, and he aimed to get one of Bruce with his reflection in the water this time around.

He felt fortunate that he managed to get a shot of Bruce at that time in that position. “So lucky to capture a symmetrical reflection of this beautiful Bald Eagle coming straight at me!” Biro captioned the photo on Instagram.

“I knew it was a great image when I saw how balanced it was but never in my wildest dreams did I expect anything of this magnitude,” he told ABC.

“He’s really awesome and fairly well behaved but also has a mind of his own too,” Biro said. “He was not very impressed with where I sat down, and several times flew right over my head close enough for me to feel the breeze from his wings, it was exhilarating.”

“The Eagle was literally flying inches over my head where I was sitting, it was an amazing experience!” Biro shared on Facebook, along with a video of the stunning bird gliding close by him.

“I am so overwhelmed by all the love and positive feedback my image has received, everyone has been so wonderful!” he mentioned.

Biro had taken up photography as a hobby around 10 years ago. “Nature pics, landscapes, city pics, I love it all,” he told the BBC. But birds, for Biro, are his passion.

Over the years, after he took photography classes to learn the basics, he went on to teach himself and attend seminars, according to the ABC.

“I have always loved spending time in nature and trying to capture it’s [sic] beauty, so nature is my favorite, but I also enjoy cityscapes and astrophotography, as well as architecture,” he further added.

“I never knew where my photography would lead and one of the most rewarding aspects of this hobby is hearing from people who say my images have made their day and bring them great joy or stir fond memories.

“It warms my heart to know I might bring joy to people who may not even be able to leave the house and that they love to see the world through my eyes.”

Biro especially loves taking photos of birds because they resembled humans in the way they hunt and the way they interacted with one another, according to the BBC. “They‘ll be playful, just like children,” he said. “It’s amazing how you’ll see aspects of humanity in birds—and in animals overall.”

Biro also shared with The Epoch Times in a written conversation one of his scariest situations he has encountered while capturing the perfect shot. He said: “While photographing actually was in Iceland where I was almost swamped by a rogue wave. I was crouched down setting up a shot and noticed people on my left running away and when I looked to the right there was a wave coming at me high as my head. So I sprang up grabbing both my cameras and started to run as the ice cold wave slammed into me and came up to my thighs.”

He further mentioned: “It was tough to stay upright and as the wave moved retreated it was pulling me back. I was lucky that day, a few seconds more and I would have been completely swamped by the wave and might have been injured or killed and all my gear would surely have been destroyed! I’ve had a few other scary moments but that one is a stand out for sure!”

Take a look at Biro’s photos of Bruce in his portfolio and take a glimpse of his other photos below: