In bird photography, backgrounds and settings matter.
1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Three days ago, while I was trying to photograph the flight display of a male Northern Mockingbird on Antelope Island, this (male, I think) Long-billed Curlew made a surprise appearance in the long grasses to the right of the greasewood bush the mockingbird was in. He foraged for a while but he wasn’t close and he was partly hidden by vegetation so I didn’t take many photos of him. Besides, I was mostly focused on the mockingbird because I really wanted to capture his flight display. .
When the curlew suddenly started calling I thought he might take off and I barely got him in my viewfinder before he launched. I got quite a few photos of him in flight and this is one of my favorites, in large part because of the dark green background and the wildflowers at the bottom of the frame. I think the warm morning light looks really good on him.
If my intentions pan out you’re going to see more, a lot more, of this curlew tomorrow. I continue to get requests asking for my opinion of the Canon R5 as a camera dedicated to bird photography and I think the series of photos I took of this bird in flight would be ideal visual evidence of its capabilities, or lack thereof. But that post will involve a lot of photos, processing, writing and plain old-fashioned work on my part so it’ll have to wait until at least tomorrow.
The tentative title for tomorrow’s post is “So, How Good Is The Canon R5 For Bird Photography Really?”. If you’re a bird photographer, particularly a Canon shooter, stay tuned because I suspect that post will be of interest to you.
Ron.
PS – It’s been a while but I did it again. While I was working on this post at 4:04 this morning I hit the “Publish” button by mistake and before I was ready so blog subscribers received an email with a link to the incomplete post. In a panic I quickly changed the status of the post to “Private” which effectively disabled the link.
Sorry about that. At 4 in the morning I just haven’t had enough coffee to keep my wits about me. At least that’s my excuse.
I’m very excited about this … I’m going to be in your neck of the woods next week and plan to spend some time out at Antelope Island. Though I’ll never be there as early as you are, I do hope to see some of the creatures you share with us through this blog. You’ve really whetted the appetite with this beautiful curlew! 😎
Curlews are elegant birds to watch and for me they have a plaintive haunting call. Reminds me of solitude on a prairie with a crisp breeze.
I look forward to tomorrow’s post.
Agreed about curlews, April. And I thought you might be interested in tomorrow’s post. I hope you find it useful.
Ron,
Great shots. Clearly I need to get to the Island soon.
Stephen
You do, Stephen. After this month things will really be slowing down out there.
Well, first, what a superb photograph!
Second, I totally agree that background and settings matter. I still fumble a bit with changing settings quickly for a suddenly different situation. (For example, shooting a bird in flight over open water, then turning around to snap a Kite grabbing a snail behind me against a solid green/brown tree line.)
As for backgrounds, I look forward to achieving “Dudley Nirvana” whereby my subjects bend to my will and remain in front of pleasing backgrounds such as this lovely Curlew has done.
Very nice work, Ron.
Ha. Thanks Wally, but “Dudley Nirvana” doesn’t exist – not for this Dudley at least.
Glorious colours and background for this improbable looking bird.
I can no longer drink coffee (big sigh) and may have to start blaming my brain fog (which often lasts all day) on its lack. Not yet four here…
“Improbable looking bird” fits curlews to a T.
Sorry you can no longer drink coffee, EC. That would be a tough one on me.
Beautiful feather detail (I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the undersides of a curlew’s wings). Add in that he’s against a fabulous background with an interesting pose. This shot is definitely a winner!
Looking forward to tomorrow’s post. I like your gear-head posts. It’s fun to live vicariously sometimes. 🙂
(And HBD)
Thank you, Marty. Tomorrow’s post won’t be for everyone but it’s good to know that at least some folks who aren’t crazy-ass bird photographers have interest in such things.
I guess it helps to just be “crazy-ass!” 😂
Prolly…
The Curlew is sharp, he’s in an interesting position, the background colors are interesting on their own and the green compliments the copper, brown & white feathers of the Curlew. Love everything about this photo.
Good. And thanks for explaining why you like it, Kathleen.
It is quite nice to see the bright spring time flowers in there.
The various angles of the underwing coverts is fun to ponder.
I’m pretty sure you have already answered the question to the upcoming R5 post, but still looking forward to it
Thanks, Lyle. Time will tell if your prediction is correct… 🙂 But however it turns out, nothing beats lots of photographic evidence.
Outstanding Ron. Love the background that allows him to really stand out.
Have not seen a Curlew here yet this spring.
Thanks, Everett. I hope you see some soon.
The many directions of feathers and the check pattern on them are dazzling. Thanks for (again) showing me something I would never get to see!
You’re very welcome, Mary.
Wonderful shot of the Curlew! 🙂 The background sets him off yet tells one what it is. Looking forward to more photos and the critique on the R5 tho I’ll never own one. I’ve seen one so far this year and it was pretty well hidden in the grass. Such neat birds!
Get the “4 in the morning and not enough coffee” thing!
Thanks, Judy. Curlews have a habit of being “hidden the grasses”.
Yes, they do – suspect where they’ve gotten in trouble here is using seeded wheat fields……..