![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/mourning-dove-9354-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"mourning-dove-9354-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nThere are many of them of course and this is only one but it’s an important one. Every bird photographer worth his\/her salt already knows\u00a0this on some level\u00a0but we all need to be reminded, including me. What you’re about to see is ample proof that I’m included on that sad\u00a0list of those who occasionally\u00a0forget.<\/p>\n
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1\/3200, f\/6.3, ISO 640, 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 I was approaching this Mourning Dove in my pickup I had high hopes for some very\u00a0nice shots because I had\u00a0excellent light on the bird, I loved the lichen-encrusted rock perch (I count 3, possibly 4 varieties of lichens)\u00a0and the green\u00a0background was far enough away to provide some\u00a0pleasing bokeh. But in the end I didn’t like them as well as I hoped because the feet, wingtips and part of the tail are hidden from view.<\/p>\n I’ve left this version of the image full frame\u00a0so I can make my point more effectively. As you can see the dove fills a fairly\u00a0large portion of the uncropped\u00a0frame even\u00a0while perched.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 640, 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 So as you may have\u00a0anticipated I cut off both wings when it eventually took off.<\/p>\n I think this photo had the potential to be an awfully nice\u00a0image (even bordering on superb)\u00a0but I butchered the wings. Looking back on it I wasn’t thinking when I approached the bird. So the question becomes, what should I have done differently if I had<\/em> been thinking?<\/p>\n This is something I already knew when I\u00a0was approaching\u00a0the bird of course\u00a0but in the excitement of the moment I either\u00a0misjudged the distance or, more likely, just spaced it out. Now I have many fairly nice shots of a perched dove and one butchered photo of the bird in flight that could\/should have been eye-popping. I sure wish it was the other way around…<\/p>\n So my point with this post is to remind myself as much\u00a0as it is to remind other bird photographers to consider the size of the bird in the frame for the type of shot\u00a0we’re after when approaching\u00a0our subject.<\/p>\n It’s a simple principle but easily forgotten in the heat of the moment.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n PS – It seems that many novice bird photographers are hard-wired to get as close to\u00a0their subjects as possible – after all, birds tend to be shy and skittish\u00a0so on those relatively rare occasions when they allow a close approach it’s an exciting\u00a0experience for us. But close is not always best for photography and besides, we should try to avoid flushing birds whenever possible because it’s a waste of their precious energy.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are many of them of course and this is only one but it’s an important one. Every bird photographer worth his\/her salt already knows this on some level but we all need to be reminded, including me. What you’re about to see is ample proof that I’m included on that sad list of those who forget.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/mourning-dove-9362-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"mourning-dove-9362-ron-dudley\\"")
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