![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/yellow-warbler-0308b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"yellow-warbler-0308b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nOut of the many thousands of Yellow Warbler photos I’ve taken this summer this one from yesterday morning\u00a0will\u00a0likely\u00a0turn out to be my favorite. But the reason for that strong preference will\u00a0require\u00a0an explanation because it’s personal.<\/p>\n
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1\/4000, f\/6.3, 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>\n Berries in my photos almost seem to be a theme for me recently and this one is no exception. Yesterday morning this male Yellow Warbler in the Wasatch Mountains perched in the perfect spot and gave me the perfect pose in an attractive setting. There are many little details I like about the photo\u00a0but I like them for a somewhat different reason than you might expect so I’ll try to explain why the photo has special meaning for me. It’s all related to my strong aversion\u00a0for “setup” images in nature photography that deliberately try to\u00a0deceive the viewer.<\/p>\n In my opinion this image has many\u00a0(though not all)\u00a0of the hallmarks of a setup. The light\u00a0on the bird is\u00a0perfect, the setting is attractive, the background is clean and slightly graded, the warbler is placed perfectly\u00a0in the elements of the setting and there are even colorful berries thrown in for good measure.<\/p>\n But the image wasn’t set up. There were no attractive perches cut and placed into the perfect\u00a0spot with good light\u00a0for the photographer, no artificial or specifically chosen\u00a0backgrounds and no bait (bird seed in this case) or electronic calls were used to\u00a0lure the bird in. I was just at the right place at the right time with a wild bird\u00a0in a natural setting whose behavior I didn’t influence in any significant way.\u00a0And I was prepared to take advantage of the situation. That gives me great satisfaction.<\/p>\n I was told some years ago on a public forum (Nature Photographers\u00a0Network or NPN\u00a0– a nature photography critique site) by a moderator that getting excellent setup photos of birds was just as difficult as getting them naturally.\u00a0My response to that statement is\u00a0an emphatic horse feathers!\u00a0If excellent setup photos\u00a0weren’t quicker and\u00a0easier to get\u00a0why would they do it? I sure hope he knows better now but he should have known better then.<\/p>\n Actually, this image has its “imperfections” too but I like most of\u00a0them.\u00a0For example, not all of the berries are in prime condition and the out of focus leaves and berries at bottom center of the image aren’t ideal\u00a0but that speaks to me of nature.<\/p>\n Setup shots are\u00a0pervasive on the web and elsewhere\u00a0and virtually none of those photographers disclose their methods with the image\u00a0so those types of\u00a0photos\u00a0leave me cold. But they’re nearly always easy to spot if you know what to look for.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n Notes:<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Out of the many thousands of Yellow Warbler photos I’ve taken this summer this one from yesterday morning will likely turn out to be my favorite. But the reason for that strong preference will require an explanation because it’s personal.<\/p>\n\n