![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-0514-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"ruby-crowned-kinglet-0514-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nOne of my most difficult subjects.<\/p>\n
Ruby-crowned Kinglets are one of North America’s smallest songbirds and their frenetic tendencies make them a huge challenge to photograph well. On October 7, 2017 I got lucky with a few of them in a remote area of Box Elder County.<\/p>\n
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1\/6400, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II,\u00a0Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n This one had just completed an enthusiastic rouse which had nearly destabilized him on the perch so his right foot is raised in an effort to recover. Only the male of the species has the scarlet crown and usually it’s completely hidden beneath other crown plumage but here we get a hint of it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/5000, 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<\/p>\n This male dipped his head while a sliver of the crown was exposed so we can see it a little better. The downside is that it made his beak less conspicuous against the darker background.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, 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<\/p>\n At first I wasn’t going to include this shot because in the unprocessed version of the photo the catch light in the eye is so faint it isn’t even noticed by the casual observer so it might as well not be there at all. But I decided to use it to make a point I’ve briefly touched on in the past.<\/p>\n I never add catch lights that aren’t there but occasionally during processing I’ll enhance an existing catch light to make it more apparent as I’ve done here. Sometimes the result is acceptable but other times it isn’t. For my tastes this one is in the latter category because it doesn’t look natural to me. It’s very small, only a single pixel, and the color doesn’t look natural either. I could alter its color and\/or size but doing so would cross over my self-imposed limits of how much processing is acceptable in a nature photograph.<\/p>\n Other bird photographers have different processing limits and some have none at all but for what it’s worth that’s how I handle catch lights.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n PS – I can think of few subjects that are more distantly related than birds and water heaters but I learned something yesterday that I thought I’d pass along to my readers who are home owners.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It all started with my water heater. My dad and I installed it in my basement over 21 years ago and it was still working just fine but I was getting nervous about it because it can be a real disaster when they fail and they all eventually do. As you can see the warranty on this one was only for 10 years so I was really pushing my luck. In the past I’ve always installed water heaters myself but because of my bad back and recent surgery I decided it would be really stupid of me to try to save a few bucks and do it myself so I called a plumber.<\/p>\n I purchased my home about 30 years ago and from day one I’ve been fighting low water pressure. Twice I’ve asked plumbers about it but both of them told me I’d just have to live with it. But after installing my new water heater yesterday my plumber tested my water pressure and noticed it was only 40 psi when ideally it should be in the range of 65-70 psi. He fixed it in less than a minute with the turn of a wrench!<\/p>\n I’ve always considered myself a pretty decent handyman but I had no idea that most homeowners, including yours truly, have a PRV (pressure reducing valve) on the water main coming into their house. That valve is adjustable and my water pressure is now nearly 70 psi. Boy, did I feel stupid.<\/p>\n What a joy to not have time to take a nap while my kitchen sink is filling!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of my most difficult subjects.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ruby-crowned-kinglet-0269-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"ruby-crowned-kinglet-0269-ron-dudley\\"")
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<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/water-heater-photo-taken-4-30-19.jpg\" "\\"water-heater-photo-taken-4-30-19\\"")
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