![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/sage-thrasher-3273-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"sage-thrasher-3273-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nThis first photo is about as close to a “perfect” shot as I ever get.<\/p>\n
To be sure I don’t think there is such a thing as a perfect shot, at least in nature photography. I know I don’t have any. But if your definition of perfect includes all the elements that those who shoot setups in bird photography strive for this image comes pretty darned close. And no, I didn’t set this shot up. Everything just came together naturally.<\/p>\n
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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 Slightly less than a year ago while I was shooting a variety of other birds in a remote area of Box Elder County this Sage Thrasher landed on an ideal spot on a wild rose and posed for some time. I like virtually everything about this shot including but not limited to the jaunty foot-forward pose, the placement of the colorful rose hips, the background, the composition and the even lighting on both bird and perch. The thrasher is sharp and there’s oodles of detail, in part because this image has been cropped very little (it’s 88% of the original image, 17.6MP out of 20MP).<\/p>\n Since I don’t shoot setups this kind of thing rarely happens with me so when it does I sit up and take notice.<\/p>\n After such a productive session with this bird I should have known that when it decided to take off a dandy flight or takeoff shot was too much to ask for. My hopes were up anyway.<\/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, canvas added for composition, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n But when it eventually launched it took off behind and very close to the top twig and rose hips which meant it had to wait to open its wings so all I got is this “bullet shot” as he seemed to be running in air.<\/p>\n So, is the first photo above one of my all time favorites? Well…. sorta, but “perfect” doesn’t necessarily translate to favorite. Being a behavior kind of guy I actually like some of my behavioral shots better (a Bald Eagle eating a fish in midair<\/a>, a Black-billed Magpie in flight carrying nesting material<\/a> and a Prairie Falcon in flight with a duck in its talons<\/a> come to mind but there are others).<\/p>\n Berries and rose hips seem to be late this year because of our cold and wet spring but I’m hoping for some colorful opportunities with birds feeding on the berries in weeks to come.<\/p>\n Right now birds are very slow.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This first photo is about as close to a “perfect” shot as I ever get.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/sage-thrasher-3280-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"sage-thrasher-3280-ron-dudley\\"")
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