Why You Must Take This Photo

Here it is.

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You must take this photo so that you can take the next one.

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Almost Okay

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This photo looks good in a small frame.

Upon close study, you'll notice that the bird on the left is slightly blurred.

After taking this photo, the birds moved closer together and I took a better photo where both birds are in sharp focus.

See it on my flickr page at: Two Green Herons

The Shadow

This could be an acceptable photo.

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Except for the shadow across the tip of this bird's bill.

Lesson: Pay attention to shadows that fall across the subject.

The bird, by the way, is a very young Green Heron.

Your Should See the Movie

This is a Cooper's Hawk, high in a tall tree.

So, the image is less than sharp.

However, the movie is more forgiving. See it at: Cooper's Hawk Video

Crop Different

This is the original photo.

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Note that the bird is nicely centered. Thus, there's too little space in front of it.

So, let's crop the photo. And let's use a custom crop, instead of a 3:2 crop. This leaves an attractive space around the bird, while leaving room for the bird to move into.

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Odd Benefit

Enlarge this photo so that you can see the feather detail.

Notice how many feathers are broken. This bird (a California Towhee) needs a good molt.

Pied-billed Grebe

This photo is okay.

The photo that I posted on flickr is better. See: Pied-billed Grebe

Jump Instead of Fly

Sometimes (like often) a bird jumps to another branch.

Photos such as these catch this action.

Why I Kept This Photo

The bird is looking slightly away from the viewer.

However, look at a screen shot of the detail on the back of the bird.

So, I'm keeping this photo.

Another Use for Photos

Sure, there's a branch in the way.

I tried to fix this.

I asked the hawk to move to a more photogenic spot. And (would you believe it?) the hawk ignored me.

This photo still has merit.

I can study it to remind myself of what a very young Cooper's Hawk looks like, which is something that I need to learn. I'm still being challenged by identifying this bird.

This Happens Often (Like Really Often)

The bird is a Yellow Warbler, which is very hard to photograph.

Another Way to Do It

Here's another way to photograph a hummingbird. Now the bird is staying on one place for a few seconds.

Frame Shift

The bird in this photo is too far to the right.

Ideally, the back of the bird should have been placed to the far left. Then there would be space in front of the bird, which makes a photo more appealing.

Break the Rules

Actually, this photo is okay.

It's special because I took the photo in the evening with a shutter speed of 1/15 sec at a distance of about 30 feet. The sharpness is remarkable, considering that my system has a 1,120-mm focal length equivalent (500-mm lens with 1.4x tele-extener on a Canon 7D).

So, what's the point?

Photos are everywhere. Even in low light.

Of course, using a tripod helps.

No Where to Go

The first photo is okay.

The second photo is better.

Why?

The duck has room to move into in the second photo.

The point: Always leave space in front of an animal for it to fill.

Vocal Squirrel

It's unlikely that I'd use this photo in one of my talks, especially one for the family.

Unwanted Shadow

The feather detail on this Black Phoebe is excellent. Unfortunately, there's a shadow on top of the bird's head.

Next time, I'll ask the bird to land on a branch with even light and a clear background.

Why Would You Save This Photo

There are at least a few things wrong here.

The bird, a Nuttall's Woodpecker, is halfway into a nest hole. And so on.

I'm keeping this photo, however, because it reminds me of the tree where I saw this bird. Now, I know what to look for the next time I go to this park.

What is this hummingbird doing?

Is it asleep on the job? Does it know how to fly so well that it can do it with its eyes closed? Is it bored?

EA Verification Key

{EAV_BLOG_VER:fa1378f87b7aa927}

Red-tailed Hawk