![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/barn-swallow-7147b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"barn-swallow-7147b-ron-dudley\\"")
1\/800, f\/7.1, 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>\nI took the photo two days ago as the swallow was perched on\u00a0emerging\u00a0wild rose\u00a0at Farmington Bay WMA. I only had about 2 seconds with it in my viewfinder before it flew off\u00a0and I wasn’t terribly fond of most of the\u00a0shots I got while the bird was looking to my right\u00a0because its face was\u00a0so close to that green shoot near the edge of the frame. But I got two\u00a0photos of it looking to our\u00a0left and for me that\u00a0made all the difference.<\/p>\n
I like the overall wispy feel of this image. In fact wispiness seems to be its dominant\u00a0theme based on the fine breast and belly\u00a0feathers flowing downward, the subtle strands of\u00a0spider silk beneath the feet of the bird and the delicate light-colored feathers beginning to sweep across the right wing. And even though the bird is sufficiently sharp it has a soft feel about it that contributes to the effect.<\/p>\n
I love the out-of-focus greenery in the background\u00a0at lower left. I think it adds a lot to the\u00a0image that wouldn’t exist if it was just empty space back there\u00a0and its extreme softness doesn’t compete with the swallow in the least.<\/p>\n
And for my tastes the bird is perfectly placed on the branch\u00a0in the open space between the vertical green shoot on the right and the out-of-focus greenery at lower left. With independent-minded birds that doesn’t happen very often.<\/p>\n
Yes, there’s at least one nit to pick (isn’t there always?). I didn’t have enough depth of field to get the tail and wingtips sharp but if I had that DOF\u00a0the greenery at left might have been sharper and more obtrusive.<\/p>\n
That’s a tradeoff I’m willing to make.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
PS – This image reminded me once again not to ignore “common” birds. Around here swallows of various species are ubiquitous in many of the areas I shoot and it’s easy to become almost numbed by their presence in large numbers and just keep on truckin’. But when I find a bird of any species in a lovely setting that would nearly always be a mistake. <\/em><\/p>\n I have to remember that the setting can be as important as the bird and sometimes even more so. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This recent Barn Swallow photo just might be my personal favorite of the species I’ve ever taken. It took me a while to come to that conclusion but the more I study it the more I like it.<\/p>\n