Something a little different from me today. A lot different, actually.
Yesterday morning, after a long drive to get to my birding destination, I drove about 65 additional miles (slowly) while looking for birds. In that 65 miles I saw a half dozen huge flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds, each flock consisting of several thousand birds.
Interestingly if not unexpectedly this time of year, I never once saw a blackbird that wasn’t part of a flock, which meant I typically drove for 10 miles or so without seeing a single blackbird and then I’d see a flock of many thousands. Every last blackbird I saw was “flocked up”.
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
They were mostly adult females or immature birds, with only a few adult males sprinkled in.
It was mostly a waste of time to try to photograph them, for two reasons: 1, my super telephoto lens has extremely narrow depth of field so very few of the masses of birds in flight were sharp, and 2, they were always feeding amongst dried sunflowers but not on the sunflowers themselves. Instead, most of them were foraging on the ground at the base of the sunflowers where I couldn’t see them. The flock would circle low over the sunflowers and then disappear on the ground, with only a few birds perched temporarily on the sunflower stalks.
However, I did get one photo out of several hundred that I thought had possibilities. But it was a stretch.
1/6400, f/5.6. ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
And it’s all because of the pose of one female, amongst hundreds of birds in the frame. I love her posture with her wings up and her tail twisted vertically and the way she’s using her right foot to bend the stalk and pull the flowerhead toward her.
But this version of the photo has been drastically cropped, resulting in significantly diminished image quality.
So I decided to try a looser crop with a different composition. Even though there’s a lot of birds in this version, my eye immediately goes to the afore-mentioned female because she’s sharp while most of the others are soft, she’s centered in the frame and because she’s isolated with about a half dozen other birds surrounding her. She’s definitely the center of attention.
Not a perfect solution but I think it’s an interesting one.
Just so you know, this is what I had to work with – the full frame (uncropped) version of the photo.
I’m probably trying too hard to save a flawed photo just because I’m enamored by the pose of one bird out of many. But that’s part of the fun of bird photography. If nothing else, it keeps me involved and entertained.
Ron
I love everything about those photos!
I like all the versions of your leading lady for a variety of reasons. I especially like the very first shot, Mr. Hitchcock.😉 Like with schools of fish, I wonder how such large flocks choreograph their motion so as not to crash into each other.
(Sorry I’m so late today — combination of dealing with the foster dog’s vet appointments and you landing in my spam folder this morning.) 💙
Just amazing! All three versions are fascinating. Seeing so many birds together is awe inspiring. You must have been in heaven. The full photo would make a wonderful jigsaw puzzle!
WOW! We get some large flocks here but nothing like that! I like the 2nd photo of the one on the sunflower – some “context” while still being clear who the “star” is…… 🙂
“some “context” while still being clear who the “star” is”
Good way to put it, Judy.
Once again you are showing us how to see. To see the gem in the dross. And one way to shape a story. Very powerful.
Showing us raw material at first – that wonderful flock, mostly blurry, with those sharp ladies in front, and the bits of red flashing in the background, sets the mood. Then showing the steps in crafting the story, but working backward from the final close crop, to the looser crop and then the raw material again. It’s as if we are sitting there with you and you are saying “now do this, and this, and this.” Very neat. Thanks for the lesson!
(I wonder how the story changes for the viewer, if you present it the way you are seeing it – raw, progressive crops, with final at the end?)
Carolyn, your comment was very insightful .I try to put myself in the shoes of those I’m ‘talking’ to, so that I present my info and photos in a way, and in an order, that will best get across the points I’m trying to make. It’s a technique I learned in the classroom, painfully.
Nothing’s worse than to finish your presentation to an audience and realize that the the folks you’ve been talking to missed the point because you didn’t explain it well. Or they tuned you out because you bored them to death.
You saw thousands of these beautiful birds? Be still my beating (and jealous) heart.
I really love the approach you took, and the diva you featured.
Megathanks.
“You saw thousands of these beautiful birds? ”
I sure did, EC. There were sometimes thousands in a single flock and I saw 6 or 7 flocks of them.
Whoa, it’s really beautiful Ron.
Thanks, Susan.
Wow, fascinating, to back off and off and off. And I love how strong she looks! Great capture, Ron.
She does look like she’s a “take charge” bird, doesn’t she. Thanks, Ellen.
I’ve talked my mother into subscribing and she’s loving your posts. She contacted me to make sure I didn’t miss this one… and I agree that it’s a gem.
Hi Cheryl’s mother! I’m very glad to have both of you aboard.
I second Michael’s assessment of your work and your
attitude toward it– there’s a spirit of openness and willingness to try
new things ( within parameters ! ) that I admire. Your center of interest appears to have seized the microphone–with concertgoers swirling
around her………
Very much appreciated, Kris.
Love the concert image Kris.
She is special, or at least to you, and that is all that counts. Neat post. Here they stay apart all fall and winter male and female and then in the spring when it is breeding time they all come together. I love to watch the flocks and have taken many photos of them and really enjoy watching them and listening to all that chatter, but I must admit I have never picked one out of the group to center on.
“I have never picked one out of the group to center on.”
This might be a first time for me, Everett.
Surrounded by thousands of birds? Yes please! That pose is frame worthy! Love it!
Glad you like it, Kathleen. Thanks.
Great! Really enjoy the steps of you efforts to create the best version, beautiful, informative, and inspiring.
Thanks, Janice.
I like this type of environmental shot. It really tells the story.
Good. Thanks, Bruce.
Birds of a feather…
It’s a gem picked out of the hubbub of the flock. Like the “looser crop” best. The apparent momentary exaggerated pose of the bird feeding on the flowerhead surrounded by all the others really draws the eye, and it feels to me like an illustration in an medieval illuminated text.
You are so modest. It is much more than involvement and entertainment.
What I see is a man of knowledge, skill, and experience who passionately pursues two uniquely human endeavors, science and art, and shares this work with whoever would like to see it. You probably will dismiss this as insincere or too eager praise. But that is the way I see it, and what keeps me coming back.
That’s high praise, Michael. And I would never dismiss what you said as insincere. I’m flattered.
Whatever keeps you “coming back”, I hope it continues.
The stillness of her pose amidst all that movement is really striking. Lovely photo!
Thanks, Cathy.