![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/cedar-waxwing-9566-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"cedar-waxwing-9566-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nWaxwing takeoff shots have been a goal of mine for some time and I finally succeeded two days ago in the Wasatch Mountains.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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 The\u00a0bird\u00a0was perched at an angle on the branch that strongly suggested\u00a0it might take off to my left which would\u00a0give me a nice angle on the bird in flight so I\u00a0worked both\u00a0myself and my camera hard\u00a0at getting one.\u00a0I took 116 shots of the waxwing on the perch, most of them in short, quick bursts in hopes of getting lucky and timing one just\u00a0as it took off.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, <\/em>Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/p>\n And after many failed attempts in the past I finally succeeded.<\/p>\n Although this may not be my preferred wing position in flight or at takeoff I was fortunate to get it because\u00a0I was so close to the bird that it filled a large portion of the frame while perched.\u00a0If the wings had been in the\u00a0up or down position\u00a0I’d almost certainly have clipped them or cut them off in flight. At 1\/4000 second shutter speed the wing softness is most likely due to depth of field rather than motion blur.<\/p>\n I like the sharpness and good detail of the waxwing in flight, the feather shadows on the belly that look just a little like ribs\u00a0and that single toe still pushing off from the perch. I’m a little less pleased with the homogenous tan\u00a0background that supplies little context to the image,\u00a0other than suggesting it’s faraway dried vegetation back there which is exactly what it was. I also wish I had a little more room at bottom for a more pleasing composition.<\/p>\n It always feels good to work hard on a goal and finally achieve some success.\u00a0In bird photography there are no guarantees, no matter how long or how often\u00a0we try.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Waxwing takeoff shots have been a goal of mine for some time and I finally succeeded two days ago in the Wasatch Mountains.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/cedar-waxwing-9660-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"cedar-waxwing-9660-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\n