1\/1600, f\/8, ISO 400, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\nWithout question this is my favorite Lazuli Bunting photo. It was taken in early June of 2010 on a camping trip to Utah’s spectacular San Rafael Swell (“The Swell”) and I posted it to my blog in October of 2013. This photo shows off the distinctive bicolored bill unusually well.<\/p>\n
In the intervening years my processing skills and preferences have evolved so when I ran across that post last night I decided I wanted to reprocess the image for a different look. The original version was a little too dark and it had a vertical composition but this time I wanted to include more of the fresh springtime greasewood on the left, which was easier said than done. In most situations I prefer my images to have a 5×7 aspect ratio but the bunting is so large in the frame I didn’t have enough room on the left to do that without centering the bird too much. So, for this version I had to settle for a 4×5 aspect ratio and even then the bird is a little too centered but it did allow me to include more of the greasewood.<\/p>\n
Compromise, it’s all about compromise, but I still like this version for a change.<\/p>\n
In the spirit of full disclosure I’ll admit to having tweaked this image so it isn’t exactly the way it appeared in the field.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/lazuli-bunting-3546-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"lazuli-bunting-3546-ron-dudley\\"")
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Here’s the image before the tweak but I won’t point out what I did. If you’re curious you’ll have to find it on your own, but it shouldn’t be hard to spot.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/san-rafael-swell-640-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"san-rafael-swell-640-ron-dudley\\"")
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This is the area where I was camping when I photographed the bunting. This photo was taken on a mostly cloudy morning two days before I took the bunting photo.<\/p>\n
The San Rafael Swell is one of Utah\u2019s lesser known scenic and geologic gems. It’s a huge (300 sq miles) 40-60 million year old dome-shaped anticline of shale, sandstone and limestone that has been eroded into myriad canyons, valleys, gorges, buttes and mesas. Spring camping trips to this remote area are almost literally soul-restoring after a long, dreary winter.<\/p>\n
It’s been way too long since I’ve been there.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
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Addendum: Apparently some folks who looked for the tweak couldn’t find it. Look beneath the tip of his tail in both versions of the photo.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A beautiful male on a fresh green perch. (3 photos)<\/p>\n
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