1\/5000, 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<\/em><\/p>\nThree days ago in the mountains I caught this adult male Lazuli Bunting as he was leaning into takeoff. An instant after this photo was taken his wings were spread spectacularly but in that photo I clipped a wingtip and his face was soft. Because of his leaning and angled posture it may look like I was shooting almost straight down on him but my shooting angle wasn’t steep at all. The vertical grass seed head at lower left provides some perspective on my actual shooting angle.<\/p>\n
During my initial preview of the photos I took that day I didn’t give this one much thought but the more I look at it the more I like it because I notice things that hadn’t registered previously.<\/p>\n
This shooting angle provides a fairly unique look at almost all of the turquoise blues of the adult male of the species from the base of his bill to the tip of his tail, including the most brilliant ones on his rump between his wing primaries. With his head closer to the viewer than any other part of him the intense eye contact is almost soul-drilling. The soft bokeh and colors of the natural background which I adore are the proverbial icing on the cake.<\/p>\n
Viewers may or may not agree with what I see as the strengths of the image but I’m glad I gave this one a second chance.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A shooting angle that provides an unusually good look at the brilliant turquoise blues of the male Lazuli Bunting in breeding plumage.<\/p>\n
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