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1\/800, f\/9, ISO 320, 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>\n While shooting from my pickup window\u00a0yesterday morning I had this far-away\u00a0female Common Merganser in my viewfinder when I noticed that my shutter speed was much slower than I prefer (because the water was so dark)\u00a0for birds who may become active so I decided to increase my ISO to 500 and change my aperture to f\/6.3 to\u00a0rectify the situation.\u00a0But in the split second after I’d increased my ISO (and before I could adjust aperture) I heard a commotion to my left and behind me at a very\u00a0awkward and almost impossible angle out my window.<\/p>\n I knew what\u00a0it was before I even saw its source – several\u00a0Common Mergansers (that I knew were there)\u00a0had started running across the water to the other side of the pond. I don’t know what made me even try for the shot – my settings were all wrong for the situation, I was probably too close to the birds to avoid clipping body parts\u00a0and besides it would be a miracle if I could swing my\u00a0long and cumbersome\u00a0500mm lens back 90\u00b0 in time\u00a0to get an already\u00a0running\u00a0bird in frame and in focus. And by this time\u00a0the\u00a0birds were moving at blazing speeds so this was definitely one of those “poke and hope” situations.<\/p>\n But instinct and reflexes took over and without even thinking about it I made the effort. I had no idea what I got until\u00a0I arrived home\u00a0but I was far from optimistic. Typically when I think I might have taken an interesting shot or two\u00a0I’ll preview them in the field on my screen but\u00a0for these\u00a0photos I didn’t even bother.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/8000, f\/9, 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<\/em><\/p>\n This was the first image in the burst. I was blown away that I didn’t clip any body parts, the\u00a0merganser was sharp and I liked the posture of the bird. True, I don’t have enough room on the right for a composition that pleases me but hell, given the situation how much more could\u00a0I ask for?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/8000, f\/9, 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<\/em><\/p>\n This is the next\u00a0photo in the burst and for this one I do have a little more room on the right. I got more images after this one\u00a0but there’s actually a running\u00a0female merganser just out of frame to the left and she was even\u00a0faster than he was so she ruined those shots as she passed between us.<\/p>\n I keep thinking of all the ways I was lucky to get these shots, including:<\/p>\n If I’d had an opportunity to think about it I wouldn’t have even tried for these shots because the chances of success were just too remote. One of my bird photography mantras when I’m trying to decide where\/if to go shooting when I might (or might not) find birds is “you never know unless you\u00a0go”.<\/p>\n Well, in a variation of that theme, “You never know unless you try”. Pixels are cheap and sometimes\u00a0we get lucky!<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n PS – This post may be a little “photo-geeky” for some\u00a0and for that I apologize. But I suspect that readers who are bird photographers who regularly shoot with long lenses will understand my amazement at getting these images. And perhaps it will inspire some of\u00a0them to make the effort in near-impossible situations. Occasionally it pays off…<\/em><\/p>\n Addendum: As a very late afterthought I thought some viewers might be interested in seeing one of the images where the female has caught up with and\u00a0is passing the male. She was one speedy lady! The image is full frame (uncropped).<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/common-merganser-8742-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"common-merganser-8742-ron-dudley\\"")
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