And a new milestone for Feathered Photography.
1/4000, 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 bird is one of the two Sage Thrashers I was photographing in a fragrant sumac bush two days ago when the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher I posted yesterday unexpectedly popped up out of the greenery. I believe the thrasher was seeking sanctuary from the wind in this fairly protected spot near a small cliff because ‘he’ stayed in this spot for 12 minutes before I grew tired of waiting for him to take off and drove on down the road.
To my eye this photo looks almost “too perfect” in some ways to have been taken in the wild without the background and setting being manipulated or ‘set up’ by the photographer. If this photo belonged to someone else whose reputation I wasn’t familiar with I’d be just slightly suspicious there had been some hanky-panky involved. The following characteristics of the photo would make me wonder:
- All of the greenery of the perch is in the same focusing plane as the bird so it’s all sharp.
- The background is perfectly clean with a beautiful, soft bokeh.
- The shape of the soft darks in the background at upper left matches the shape of the perch almost perfectly and the bird is in the ideal place between the well lit perch and the darks of the background.
- The light is appealingly soft and the light angle is just right to throw some interesting shadows on the bird that still have plenty of detail.
The fly in the ointment of course is the out of focus vertical twig at lower left. Someone shooting setups would never have allowed that twig in the photo.
Getting this many things to go right doesn’t happen very often in nature photography. And I’m probably a little too suspicious about things like this after many years of being very active in a bird photography critique forum (Nature Photographers Network). Some photographers in that forum regularly manipulated their settings and backgrounds and baited the perch with hidden food to attract birds to the perfect place without disclosing their methods – all of which was against forum rules and in my opinion is unethical in nature photography anyway.
Nature is messy and too many photographers are sneaky and less than honest about their shady techniques (which many of them are very, very good at) and that’s a combination that can make my red flags go up. Sometimes it’s a false alarm and sometimes it isn’t.
OK, I’m beginning to ramble. On to something else.
Two days ago I happened to notice in my blog stats that Feathered Photography has reached 1000 subscribers.
850 of them subscribe directly via email and 150 of them subscribe through WordPress.com. Those stats don’t include folks who follow my blog on social media or reach Feathered Photography using search engines or links from other sources.
In the scheme of things those are modest numbers but they still give me significant satisfaction. When I first started blogging almost exactly ten years ago my intention was to use my photos as sort of a continuation of my teaching career by promoting science, interest in birds and their behaviors and nature and conservation issues in general.
When I was teaching my audience consisted only of my students – about 160 to 190 individuals each day. So to reach this many folks on a daily basis is rewarding. It goes without saying that not everyone who subscribes reads my blog every day but I still find those numbers encouraging.
Hopefully Feathered Photography and the feedback from my readers, many of whom are enormously knowledgeable, have had an impact.
Ron
The main reason I’ve always enjoyed you is that you came across as a no nonsense kinda guy… I like that 😁 I do not comment every time but I do read your blog everyday. I’m not sure how I found you🧐 Glad I did
Congrats on 1000❗️
Perfect picture of your bird
Thanks, Diana. I’ve been responsible for more than my share of nonsense over the years but I do try to keep it to a minimum on Feathered Photography.
Congrats, Teach! I’ll keep it short and sweet (I’m as surprised as you are 😂) and just say, “Ditto,” to all the previous comments.
Thank you, Marty.
Looking at your blog every morning is like taking a mini-class. With no grades. And it’s fun. Kind of like a box of…well, you get the picture. If you charged money I would still subscribe. OK, I’ll stop Thrashing about now.
You can ‘thrash about’ like that anytime you like, Lyle!
PS: Your ethics are a huge draw card as well – which I should have mentioned in my first comment.
Thanks very much, EC.
I cannot remember just how I found your blog, but it has been a highlight of my mornings for many years now. Education and delight are a most excellent way to start the day. Only 1000? There are a LOT of people who don’t know what they are missing.
EC, you’re a veteran among veterans when it comes to following my blog and I want you to know I appreciate you every day.
I am an old happy guy because of your blog! You are someone that thinks and likes stuff similar to what I like and are old enough to have had some great experiences and are willing to share them. Besides that you are an excellent avian photographer as well as just plain great with other forms of wildlife! Most, not every, but most mornings you and Mia are the blogs I initially check! I am just hopeful you both can keep it up! Many thanks and stay safe in these troublesome times!
Your introductory sentence brought a huge smile, Dick! Thank you.
I am so happy you chose to blog. I enjoy it immensely. It is nice to find like minded birders and photographers. Education is vital, Utah is going down the road of native habitat destruction, valuing monetary value to natural resources over important natural habitat that made this state so interesting.
The sage thrasher is beautiful, I like the puffed up pose.
“Education is vital”
I agree April and I always have. Thank you.
Me too Ron. I don’t know how many bird photographer friends I have recommended your blog to. Between the great images and the reliable information, I look forward to checking you out every day. Stay well and keep shooting!
That’s very good to know, Burrdoo. Thank you.
It’s great to hear that the number of readers is officially 1000. I suspect many more look in from time to time. I understand wanting to continue the educational outreach. That’s was one of my goals when Barbara and I opened our Wild Birds Unlimited store. (Of course, with the virus around I can no longer do my in-store talks.) But you get to reach out beyond a local audience. That means that many people have to opportunity to learn more about birds and nature, to learn about conservation, and to understand high ethical standards for sharing and experiencing nature. And, of course, they get to experience great photography in the process. Keep up the great work. It’s rewarding and meaningful to very many people!
There are different paths to the same goal, Dan. All of them can get you there, it’s just that the ‘scenery’ is different during the trip… 🙂
Thank you for your significant contributions to Feathered Photography over the last several years. I know that we all appreciate them, a lot.
I can spell better than is indicated I just hurry too much.
🙂
Your ethics and artistic eye are very evident in this post as well as your great information. I didn’t notice the out of focus twig until you mentioned it and it doesn’t detract from the picture in any way for my enjoyment. One of the best part of my day is vising your site.
Much appreciated, Betty.
I’m so glad you’ve been able to quantify Feathered Photography’s appeal…..I couldn’t begin to count
the number of things I’ve learned from following your blog, or to “clock”
the hours of seeing beautiful living things that I wouldn’t have otherwise
been privileged to witness, because you’ve generously shared the dedicated
work and concomitant education of so many years–thanks, and I wish you
many more !
What a thoughtful comment, Kris. Thank you.
Those are great numbers and that is a gorgeous photo. If I owned a little B-n-B, I’d have a BirdBrains room with artwork from you. 😀 Now to win that lottery….
I’ll chip in for a ticket or two, Arwen… 🙂
Excellent and informative post this am. Noticed that vertical twig right away so knew that no self respecting cheater would have left that in there 🙂 Congratulations on reaching 1000 followers. Phillies manager Joe Girardi just got his 1000th win the other night although of course most of those came as a Yankee manager.
That vertical twig jumped out at me too, Everett. When they’re that soft and in front of sharp stuff they always do.
Congrats on the the 1000 milestone! 🙂 It travels much further through commenting to others and sharing some days. May be modest but the positive affect goes much further…….. 😉 Sage Thrasher photo IS beautiful and fun – wind (we’re getting it again with a red flag warning) doesn’t thrill any creature including me!
Yeah, living in the area you do I’m sure you have more experience with strong winds than most folks do, Judy.
But I’ve seen the drone photos of where you live that your brother posted on FB so I don’t feel too sorry for you. I feel only envy.
Yes, I DO love it here – he was flying a Cessna that he’s working on with a friend in Ft. Benton. Bit of a challenge figuring out how to photograph while flying that vs. his Luscombe….. 😉
Your effect reaches even further because I often mention things I read in your blog (giving you full credit of course) to people I know who are interested in birds, nature or photography. Sometimes they go and check out your blog and sometimes they just learn something new!
That’s very good to know. Thank you, Joanne.