First eagle bank of 2013, Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Nikon D4 and Sigma 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM 1/1250s, f/8 ISO 1000, Manual mode with +1 compensation, handheld. Image copyright 2013 Robert OToole Photography

My first day back in Alaska began with scouting for photography locations and set-ups with my co-leader Alan Murphy, and my guests Clemens Van der Werf and Jon Saperia. Once the job was done we enjoyed a couple hours of seriously good eagle photography out on the bay. Judging by what I saw today this year seems to shaping up to a very productive year with some really large numbers of eagles and mild conditions.

Considering this was my very first eagle photo session of 2013 I can only hope there will be lots more days coming up just like today, great weather, perfect conditions and shooting with friends and colleagues.