![\"common-merganser-1876b-ron-dudley\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/common-merganser-1876b-ron-dudley.jpg\")
1\/2500, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\nAbout three weeks ago I was photographing other less interesting birds at a local pond when this Common Merganser appeared right in front of me from out of nowhere. It was swimming slightly away from me and looking in the same direction so there was no use firing my shutter until (and if)\u00a0the bird turned to look back at me. If that happened the head turn was likely to only last for an instant so I had a decision to make because I knew I\u00a0might be\u00a0too close to the bird (this image is full frame)\u00a0to get enough depth of field at f\/6.3 to get the entire bird sharp.<\/p>\n
Do I take my finger off the shutter button to adjust my aperture for more DOF and risk missing the head turn if it happens? Or do I stay at f\/6.3 and hope for two things – that the bird turns more broadside to me so I’ll have enough DOF and that it also gives me a head turn? I chose the latter and I lost the gamble.<\/p>\n
The bird did give me\u00a0this head turn that lasted only for an instant and I got the shot. But it hadn’t turned more broadside to me so even though the head is acceptably sharp the body is soft. Too soft for my tastes.<\/p>\n
In hindsight I wish I’d have been at about f\/11 – f\/13. That might have made the body just sharp enough. But if I’d done that I’d probably also have needed to increase my ISO to keep my shutter speed up. In this situation I just didn’t have enough\u00a0time to fiddle-fart with settings that much and for me this result is unacceptable.<\/p>\n
There are times in the field when I wish I was a landscape or portrait photographer so my subjects gave me ample time to set up my shots…<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
PS – Yes, I know\u00a0I went photo-geeky on you again today and some readers aren’t into the techniques of photography, only the results. But some of my readers are bird photographers and I thought this subject might be of some interest to them. Back to more typical fare tomorrow…<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s my contention that “muscle memory”, fast reflexes and quick thinking are more important in bird photography than they are in most other types of photography.<\/p>\n