Lazuli Buntings, appropriately named after the blue gemstone lapis lazuli, are widespread throughout western North America but dang I’ve had a hard time getting nice photos of them. Three days ago I succeeded.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This male was perched atop a small serviceberry bush in the Wasatch Mountains. It was nice to get one against a clean green background for a change instead of with leaves and twigs obscuring parts of the bird and/or having dried brown vegetation in the background.
I think this is one of my better photos of the species.
That said I really struggled with composition while I was cropping the photo. In most versions I tried there was a distracting out of focus cluster of leaves poking into the frame edge and I was determined to exclude it by cropping without having to resort to cloning it out, which I really don’t l like to do. In this version I succeeded and still had a composition that worked reasonably well for me.
But it took some creative cropping to get it done.
Ron
What a stunning shot of a stunning bird! Thanks for sharing your beautiful photography and knowledge of birds.
Ooooh, loverly! That turquoise head is a stunner! You are definitely the crop-master, Ron — great composition. 🙂
Thanks, Marty. I almost gave up on getting a decent composition without cloning anything out – glad I didn’t.
Yet another charmer. A charmer wot I will not see for myself.
Many, many thanks.
More techie issues and it took me an hour to get here. I am very glad I perserved.
You’ve been having those ‘puter problems for a very long time, EC. I think you have more patience than I do.
Wow! Whadda bird! Beautiful photo. I’ll put that on my bucket list of birds to see.
Lazuli Buntings deserve to be on anyone’s bucket list, Joanne. They were on mine for quite a while.
It is lovely the way the blue glows in the photo.
Thanks, April.
Beautiful bird, beautiful shot Ron! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Charlotte.
I can’t imagine the bird could be crisper or the background more perfect (I know, bad grammar) if you had baited, set up… well, you get the picture (pun intended).
No worries about bad grammar here, Lyle – sometimes it’s fun to just butcher it on purpose. I know I do that occasionally.
Beautiful shot of a beautiful little bird! See them occasionally here – 1st time I saw one I thought initially it was a blue bird! OOPS! 🙂
Judy, I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen one in Glacier County in all those years.
Just “took my breath away” ! The grayish green background is the
perfect foil for the Bunting’s brilliant coloration–a real treat…. Thanks!
Thank you, Kris.
Excellent! A truly beautiful bird and you caught him perfectly…could not have had a better pose. 😍 You have a few birds out there the I would love to photograph but I know it is pure luck to be able to that. My luck…I wouldn’t find a single bird.
Kathy, that’s usually my luck too when I make a long trip with a single or just a a few target species in mind. Bird photography has a way of being like that…
Beautiful photo. In 14 years here I have only seen them twice and only once was a able to get a decent photo, but even then it was not as clean as this one.
Still, you’re 50/50 with them, Everett – much better than my success rate.
Oh my, Ron! He is a stunner! Wonderful way to start the day. Thank you!
Thanks, Diane.
Love the shot!
I can’t see a shot of a Lazuli Bunting, without it bringing back memories of our first life Lazuli.
Your photographs tell me I need to get out more with my camera, but the weather just hasn’t cooperated.
Yup, photos bring back memories don’t they, Dick.
While I was working this one up I kept thinking of the first time I ever photographed the species – in the San Rafael Swell in central Utah. Males were singing on territory all over the place and I was blown away by their beautiful colors..