![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/western-meadowlark-9760-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"western-meadowlark-9760-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nOftentimes it’s the little things that make or break an image.<\/p>\n
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1\/4000, 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<\/em><\/p>\n I photographed this\u00a0Western Meadowlark 4 weeks ago on Antelope Island. The singing pose is a little less exuberant than in\u00a0many meadowlark photos\u00a0I’ve posted but I actually like that for the sake of variety. I was close to the bird so I have good detail, the perch isn’t\u00a0particularly attractive\u00a0but it’s natural and the color of the far background complements those of the meadowlark.<\/p>\n But for me\u00a0the “little thing” that sets this photo apart from many others I’ve posted is how the out-of-focus greenery in the near background frames the\u00a0meadowlark almost perfectly. I like the image much better than I would if many of\u00a0the leaves were directly behind the bird rather than framing it so nicely. It’s a little artistic touch that I appreciate.<\/p>\n I’ve learned over the years to make my approach on birds in my pickup\u00a0a very deliberate one for several reasons and one of them is to get the most pleasing background possible. When I\u00a0was approaching\u00a0this bird I intentionally tried to place it in the open space between the leaves\u00a0when I stopped. At first I\u00a0wasn’t completely successful but I was close so I was\u00a0able to slide my lens on my\u00a0“noodle” (lens rest) and make the minor adjustment necessary to\u00a0get the meadowlark almost exactly where I wanted it.<\/p>\n There can be a\u00a0risk with trying\u00a0to get the bird in the perfect spot in the background – you might approach an inch too close and spook the bird.\u00a0When that happens it\u00a0can be a cussword generator (and I’m pretty creative in that department)\u00a0but\u00a0when it works it can pay significant dividends.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Oftentimes it’s the little things that make or break an image.<\/p>\n