Tag: clone

Why The Cloning Tool Can Be Such A Temptress

This Red-tailed Hawk image from last week in Montana is an example of what I’m nearly always hoping to get when I’m on a perched raptor while it’s facing away from me and about to take off. 99+% of the time all you’ll get is a butt shot but if you’re extremely (and I do mean extremely) lucky you’ll get a nice look back from the bird as it banks, a widely flared and beautiful tail, good light on the entire dorsal surface, light in the eye and maybe even something interesting in the background other than featureless sky. And this time there was the bonus of a small falling feather below the left foot (something I like but others may find distracting).

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Just A Shot That I Like…#13 – Puffed-Up Chukar In Golden Light

During spring and early summer Chukars habitually call from large rock perches but in winter they’re secretive, elusive and very difficult to approach.  On the rare occasions I can get close to the species this time of year they’re buried in the vegetation and I can’t get a clear shot.    1/800, f/8, ISO 800, 500 f/4, 1.4 tc But I found this bird on a nice boulder perch last month on one of the first very cold mornings of the winter.  The sun had just come up over the Wasatch Mountains and this Chukar was determined to absorb some heat from the warming rays so it hardly moved a feather for the several minutes I was able to keep it in frame.  At times like this they fluff up their insulating feathers and always remind me of the Pillsbury Dough Boy.  Or perhaps the bird simply swallowed a softball, ya think?  Full disclosure – I cloned out a couple of bird droppings on the rock which is something I seldom do but in this case they were quite conspicuous and distracting. Ron  

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