![\"american](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/american-kestrel-5184-ron-dudley.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n1\/1600, f\/7.1, ISO 500, 500 f\/4, 1.4 tc, natural light, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This male American Kestrel is perched on a frosty sunflower stem on a frigid and\u00a0foggy January morning.\u00a0 There’s some blood on his belly from a recent meal. \u00a0 The fog had been too thick for photography for much of the morning but this bird cooperated for a few seconds just as the fog temporarily thinned out a little.\u00a0 Even in the fog I have plenty of detail because I was so close to the bird (the image is cropped to 80% of the original) but the other effects of the fog are obvious.<\/p>\n The day after I took this image (1\/15\/10)\u00a0I posted it to a well-known nature photography critique forum knowing full well that opinions would be mixed.\u00a0 And they were.\u00a0 Several critiques suggested that I increase contrast on the bird to mitigate the effects of the fog but an equal number of reviewers thought that would be a mistake.\u00a0 For example, Richard Ditch, a highly skilled bird photographer whose knowledge, integrity\u00a0and sense of aesthetics are beyond reproach said this:<\/p>\n So in the end, once again it’s a matter of taste.\u00a0 I wouldn’t want all<\/em> of my images to be taken in fog but I’m happy to have some that are.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n Note: If anyone’s interested in seeing all of the\u00a0opinions on the critique forum\u00a0regarding this image, here’s the link<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Images of birds in fog often have a unique mood and “feel”. The tendency of many photographers is to attempt to minimize the effects of the fog during processing but I try to resist that temptation and let the image sink or swim on its true merits.<\/p>\n Fog tends to reduce detail and color saturation and causes the subject to appear slightly overexposed. It also often results in high key backgrounds. Some of those effects can be reduced by increasing contrast\/saturation during processing but then you are losing the mood provided by the fog in the first place. All I’ve done with this image is crop and sharpen.<\/p>\n\n