As Illustrated by four recent photos of three different birds of two different species.
When I first began blogging over ten years ago I pretty much insisted that any of my bird photos that were made public had natural or near-natural settings and perches. I made exceptions for photos documenting interesting behaviors and unusual or rare sightings of birds but other than that I was fairly rigid about it. I considered myself to be a nature photographer and to me that strongly implied “natural” in every practical way.
But thanks to influence from my readers and my own sometimes uncomfortable introspection I’ve loosened up a little over time. When it comes to “the hand of man” in my photos I began to at least partially accept the credo that “if it’s good enough for birds it should be good enough for me”.
But there are limits to my tolerance for man-made elements in my photos.
1/8000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Nine days ago at Farmington Bay WMA I found two Western Meadowlarks that were singing softly while perched near each other on a fairly new fence. This is one of them.
Despite my aversion to barbed wire on several levels I was happy to get a cheery meadowlark in my viewfinder again. If I have to have barbed wire in my images I prefer it to be old and rusty but in this case I can tolerate the shiny new wire because my attention focuses on the bird and I can mostly ignore the wire.
1/8000, f/6.3, ISO 500, 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 is the second meadowlark, perched about 10′ away from the first one. I caught this bird in the middle of a rouse. In this instance the perch is the tip of a rusty metal fence post – not my favorite perch but to me the meadowlark dominates the image so I can put up with the less than ideal metal post.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Three days after photographing the meadowlarks I found this adult male Rough-legged Hawk near the Stansbury Mountains in Tooele County. This photo contains both undesirable elements mentioned above, barbed wire and metal fence posts, so it may seem inconsistent for me to say that I actually like them in the photo. Both the posts and the wire provide graphic lines that I find quite interesting without distracting significantly from the hawk so the image appeals to me. Quite a lot, actually.
As a photographer I also find the photo interesting on a technical level because it illustrates the sharpness gradient caused by depth of field so well. As you can see I have very little DOF at my focal lengths.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 320, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
A few minutes earlier I photographed the same hawk on this perch. Once again the image includes a painted metal fence post and new barbed wire but the hawk is so handsome and dignified-looking and I have so much detail in good light I could really like this photo.
But I don’t.
That blue bag, or whatever it is, hanging down from the wire completely ruins it for me. I didn’t even notice the bag while I was taking the photo so I was really disappointed when I looked at my photos more carefully at home. As much as I like the hawk itself that damn bag looks so out of place it keeps harpooning my eyeballs and pulling them down to that highly obtrusive and annoying blue color. I really want to like the photo because I love the way the hawk looks. But I just can’t.
So absolutely, my tolerance for the hand of man in my photos has limits. My limits probably aren’t the same as yours but I suspect most of us have them.
Ron
HI Ron,
First time commenter but I have followed your blog for several months now. The last shot of the Rough-legged Hawk is great image and appealed to me a lot. The blue debris which seems to spoil the image for you would not irritate me nearly so much because, if this image were mine, I would crop it just a little more tightly and call it a bird portrait.
Welcome to commenting, Ken. I was close enough to this bird that I could certainly crop it into a portrait that only shows the top part of the bird and leaves out all of the fence and the “blue debris”.
My mind got tied in knots trying to solve that first sentence, but the photos cleared it up.
I like the Western Meadowlark photos because their bright colors attract despite the metal, and the first Rough-legged Hawk photo because the metal matches its color. That’s about as confounding as the first sentence.
The fourth photo? Well, I don’t see Rough-legged Hawks very often so I can forgive the other stuff. A photo always helps my ID skills. Say it’s “for documentary purposes”.
If that is a mask, what really irks me is that that it is:
“Disposable” although the material will probably outlast all of us;
It will degrade and most likely be injested at some point by birds, etc.,including us;
Reusable masks. They’re actually a thing.
Barbed wire? Eat tofu.
“My mind got tied in knots trying to solve that first sentence, but the photos cleared it up”
Ha, while I was writing that sentence I actually thought of you Lyle and figured you’d be checking my math!
I have to respect your steadfastness with regards to the “hand of man” in your shot. I will take the shots and keep a few as a reference to the bird and where I found it even though I can’t use them in a Nature Competition.
Sometimes though the HOM becomes part of a story such as a Swallow sitting on the roof of a birdhouse with a tuft of nesting material to be taken inside. It tells a story, but not a true qualifying nature image.
I agree, Gary. To me those kinds of shots are documentary so unnatural elements in the image aren’t such a big deal.
The birds are so gorgeous in these photos — but especially with the Roughie, those barbs are just too many and too difficult to look at, even though I’m sure hawk knows well how to avoid them. The blue bag/mask is indeed an annoying interference but even if you were to remove it, those barbs would still be there. ☹️
I’m confused, though — is it all temporary fencing, or just the wire in the meadowlark images?
Chris, only the fence in the meadowlark image is temporary. The fence in the roughie shots is meant to stay there.
Very nice sharp image and nice light on all photos. I think it is getting hard, near impossible to avoid the “hand of man” for photos. Maybe the blue thing is a discarded blue disposable medical mask, they are everywhere now.
I agree April, it’s getting much harder. Including in some of the areas where you and I shoot.
The devil wire in the Roughie shots seems to be overkill. Really like the rousing Meadowlark — what a fun image! 🙂
I’ll take one out of four. Thanks, Marty.
I like the birds in all the shots! I just don’t think I’ve seen that high of a barb density before.
Oh my heck Ron, take Jorge’s advice and delete the stupid bag.
Not a chance, Brad.
Very interesting post.
I am happy that you have “loosened up a little over time” because I think you are too strict about your photos. In general I understand your reasons and respect them but in some cases I disagree because you are going to throw away a great and interesting photo due to an unimportant detail that can be easily resolved with photoshop.
I give you as an example the last photo of the hawk that you published today. You say you don’t like it because of the blue bag and this despite you also saying and I quote ” the hawk is so handsome and dignified-looking and I have so much detail in good light “.
So if the photo is so interesting why don’t you delete the bag and keep the photo? Plus the bag is in a place that doesn’t change anything in the composition of the image.
Most likely my limits are different from yours but I still think it would be a shame to throw out an excellent photo just because of that.
Thanks for the suggestion, Jorge. But cloning is another thing I’m pretty inflexible about. For reasons I’ve often mentioned here on Feathered Photography I don’t like doing it.. I still see myself primarily as a nature photographer. Photo art and manipulation just aren’t my bag.
.. photo art just isn’t my bag.
Oh the irony in that. It may not be your bag or your intent but you achieve high levels of photo art time after time after time.
You are becoming more flexible and I am becoming less so about ‘the hand of man’. I am a poster crone for the grumpy old woman, not just (or even predominantly) in photography but more generally.
That said the subject of your photos improves the view in each and every one of these. Thank you.
EC maybe we’ll eventually meet somewhere in the middle…
Love the stately pose of the rough-legged hawk! That pose is grand indeed! And the blue ruins it – caught my eye immediately. Agree with your thought “if it’s good enough for birds it should be good enough for me.” Glad to know you’re loosening up Ron! Good for the soul 🙂
Ha, even I have learned to become a little more flexible in certain situations, Kathleen.
It appears that there is another blou object hanging from the fence and out of focus to the hawk’s right. Were these flags to warn creatures about the barbed wire?
Interestingly, the post you do like with the run of fence posts and wire is distracting to me – perhaps because the objects are out of focus. They draw my eye away from the hawk. I don’t have that problem with any of the other photos.
Interesting indeed, Pam. I’d find the wire and those posts MORE distracting if they were sharply in focus. Different strokes… 🙂
I know what you mean by that last picture! Such a great view of the bird on an extremely ugly fence and blue thing… looks like a blue mask. (I find them everywhere now when I’m hiking with my puppy, or I should say he finds them … he thinks they make for a great game of “keep-away” with me. The other pics are beautiful though and well worth seeing! Thanks again.
Joanne, I hadn’t thought of the possibility that it’s a blue mask. Could be I guess. Just knowing it’s possible makes me like the image even less.
Beautiful shots of the Western Meadowlark and Rough-legged hawk. 😀 The blue plastic bag DEFINITLY is a spoiler even if the fence post and fencing really aren’t to me……..😖 Glad you noted that particular barbed wire is temporary! NASTY looking stuff I’ve never seen before. On the other hand I’m sure it’s quite effective for the cattle and needed. Cows, as you know, can be a REAL pain to contain and very destructive when where they aren’t wanted! 😬
Your last sentence is so very true, Judy. I don’t think most “city folks” fully understand how true it is.
Ron – I don’t like any nature photos showing man made objects, but I have no objection to your photos. In order for you to show us your outstanding feathered photos I realize there will be times when it is necessary to display photos such as these. Keep them coming. The only time I have made an exception for myself is when I see a bird that I have never seen before and might never see again. I did it this past year when I took photos of a Swainson’s Hawk on a utility pole that was a first for me. In almost 15 years here I had never ever seen one. It was neat though in the long run because he or she stayed around for a couple weeks and I was able to get some good photos on small trees and on the ground.
Oh, and for sure – the blue rag is a no no.
In our high tech world do you think we will ever create something better to replace the barbed wire?
“do you think we will ever create something better to replace the barbed wire?”
Everett, I’m pessimistic that anything will ever be developed that is effective and cheap enough to be accepted by most of the ranchers and others who use barbed wire.
Totally agree with you regarding the blue bag(?). To me it is the the ultimate intrusion…to me I see it as a bag of trash that someone was too lazy to carry off themselves leaving it for another to dispose of. Rusty poles and rusty wires are more commonplace and if they must to there…OK, they are old. It’s too bad because hawk is perfect.
Kathy, I also wonder if that “bag” is some kind of balloon. I wish I’d noticed it in the field and paid more attention.
Beautiful shots! I used to work near a prison with barbed wire that looked lethal but I never realized that livestock barbed wire in those hawk shots (not the Meadowlark shot) could be just as nasty! Wonder what animal that nasty wire is designed for? Do you know?
Terri, in both cases it’s designed for cattle. The refuge uses cattle in winter to help control phragmites so with the meadowlarks that temporary fence was put in to control where the cows go and don’t go.