Here’s another reason I like to use relatively fast shutter speeds when photographing birds.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
When birds rouse (erecting, then shaking their feathers) the effect can be interesting and visually appealing but the action is fast and requires a fairly fast shutter speed to stop the motion. Using slower shutter speeds than this (1/2500 sec) often makes the rapidly moving feathers a blurry mess. Since birds usually don’t signal a rouse soon enough to allow the photographer to make adjustments, appropriate camera settings must be dialed in from the start. In this image, taken three days ago at Farmington Bay, I really like the play of light on feather shapes and textures and for my tastes the fact that those feathers are sharp (instead of having motion blur) is a big plus.
But there’s something else of interest going on in this image. What happened to the tip of the bill in the reflection? Most of the reflection is nearly as sharp and detailed as the bird itself but the end of the bill almost looks like it has exploded. I think that detracts from the image so I was about to delete it when my curiosity got the best of me so I tried to figure out the cause of the distortion.
Typically it would be a disturbance of the calm water where the bill is in the reflection that would cause the distortion but here that water is perfectly flat and mirror-like. I believe that the water droplet on the end of the bill is the culprit. As light from the sun struck the bill-tip its path was disrupted and distorted by the water drop (acting somewhat like an imperfect lens) before it reflected back to the water surface and then bounced up to my lens and that effect obliterated the end of the bill. I don’t fully understand the physics of it but I’m convinced that the water drop was the cause.
Much ado about nothing I suppose but sometimes I have to clear up things like this in my mind before I can go on to something else…
Ron
Note: Reflections can be quite interesting (and vexing) in their own right. About six weeks ago I addressed some of their quirks in a blog post – here’s the link in case you missed it and have the interest.
110 stars! 😀
Fantastic shot Ron! You’ve upped the ante!
I just LOVE this photo for many of the reasons that are already so well expressed by others who have commented. The beautiful feathers of birds, when caught in the right conditions, e.g., lighting, wind, sometimes water drops, and also reflections, really captivate me and this photo did it for me—so much so, that I didn’t even notice the reflection of its bill in the water until much later. (I like real photos that show natural “events”, so such things never bother me.) Beautifully captured, as always.
“I didn’t even notice the reflection of its bill in the water until much later.”
It’s funny what catches our individual eyes in a photo, isn’t it, Pamela. The distorted bill in the reflection caught my attention almost immediately. The two photos I like best of this rouse both have the same distortion of the bill in the reflection.
I like what you said about “natural events” in photos. Thank you.
Patty nailed it. In the reflection’s reality there is a tiny minnow at the end of the bill – wriggling in the sun, on its way down. Or it is a water droplet if one is tied to this reality…
“In the eye of the beholder”, eh, EC?
Actually that was one of the first things I noticed, the reflection of the drop. I like it. Beautiful shot. Nothing like a good reflection!
Thank you, Jean.
Fascinating post. The conclusion you came to about what made the reflection of the end of the bill so strange makes sense to me. I really like the way the light is on the feathers because it makes the picture look really three-dimensional to me. That probably sounds weird, because all of your photos clearly look three-dimensional, but the light here enhances that effect significantly. To my eyes.
It doesn’t sound weird at all, Susan. The three-dimensional effect was one of the things I noticed while I was processing the image.
Thank you for deciding to share this photo. The feather detail is wonderful the reflection detail is incredible. Funny thing, before I read the blog I noticed the beak reflection and thought I had a smudge on my computer screen and tried to wipe it off!
Ha, I can just see you doing that, April. And your reaction is understandable…
I like the pose you captured with the high shutter speed. Shows off the bird’s plumage very nicely. The (almost) perfect reflection is a real bonus too.
Thanks very much, Dave.
Could it be that the very fast shutter speed is also helpful in capturing such a remarkably sharp reflection image ( water being even more “fluid” than a rousing bird ) ?
Kris, I’m sure the fast SS helped to get a sharp reflection for the same reason it did to get a sharp bird – the motion speed of both would be the same.
Ron – I love this little guy & what the light brings out in all his feathers is breathtakingly beautiful!! I’ve also learned a new word – “rouse”!! I also believe your assessment of the little guy’s bill reflection disturbance is the right one. I love spending time looking at your photos of wildlife – brings me a lot of joy!!
Thanks, Jo Ann, There are certain words relating to birds that I think are important for all bird-lovers to be aware of – “rouse” is one of them, partly because they do it so often.
An interesting shot…for several reasons…the capture of the rousing behavior, the ruffled turned back feathers that look like the bird is standing butt-first into the wind, and the strange reflection that looks scratched in. I’m convinced that reflections and shadows have a life of their own, their own reality–in a partially parallel world….
“I’m convinced that reflections and shadows have a life of their own, their own reality–in a partially parallel world….”
I like the way you put that, Patty. You’re spot on…
Beautiful! Reflection almost looks like it had caught a spider. 🙂 Really nice, sharp detail!
Judy
Thank you, Judy.
Very interesting stuff! Before I read your notes I was looking at the reflection and the tip of the bill looked to me as though there was a small crab on the tip of the bill in the reflection. But, I couldn’t see it on the actual bill, just the drop of water under the bill. No matter how many times I look at the image I still see a tiny crab on the bill tip in the reflection. Weird!
Great shot, and I will take to heart to increase my shutter speeds.
It does kind of look like a crab, Dick. Interesting that a crab would come to mind for you since (I assume) they’re common in your area but we don’t have them and I never thought of that possibility even though I spent a lot of time studying the image. Thank you.
No crabs here in Vermont, we’re landlocked from the ocean. Spent 50 yrs beside, or on the ocean, used to band terns, so must have the sights and sounds ingrained in my head!! VBG!
Ron = great shot! Thanks, as always, for sharing.
Thank you, Richard.