![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/warbling-vireo-1975-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"warbling-vireo-1975-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nBirds were slow in the mountains yesterday but there were a couple of bright spots and one of them was totally unexpected.<\/p>\n
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1\/2500, f\/7.1, 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 I can count my decent photos of Warbling Vireos on one hand so I was particularly happy to get this one in the mountains yesterday morning. The bird gave me several poses but for some reason many of my photos of it were soft. Thankfully I got this single sharp shot of a pose I like.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Soon after I photographed the vireo I left the area. As I very slowly drove up a steep approach to a dirt road my tires spun out on the round marble-like gravel. As I was attempting to deal with that little problem a large raptor in flight approached from the north. I only had time to put my foot on the brake, grab my camera and point the lens out the window so I could brace it on the top of the window frame and fire off a quick burst.<\/p>\n Thankfully even under those conditions I got about a half dozen sharp shots without clipping or cutting off any body parts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/5000, f\/7.1, 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 raptor turned out to be an Osprey carrying a trout. The fish was almost certainly caught at a nearby reservoir which on a Sunday morning would have been jam packed with boaters and fishermen so I strongly suspect the Osprey’s intention was to carry the fish to a more secluded spot before eating it. I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time.<\/p>\n I seldom photograph Osprey, in large part because I’m not fond of photographing them at artificial nesting platforms. So within just a few minutes I photographed two species that I rarely get in my viewfinder. It’s a good thing too because I’m sure I’ll delete my photos of every other bird I photographed that morning.<\/p>\n Yesterday was so very refreshing. It was the first day in a long time we’ve had crisp, clean air and bright blue skies without any noticeable smoke.<\/p>\n I hope it continues but I’m far from optimistic.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Note to photographers: <\/em><\/p>\n I tend to shoot at unusually high shutter speeds for a lot of reasons, including but not limited to my predilection for photographing action and behaviors and the essential tremors<\/a><\/span><\/span> in my hands that causes them to shake when I’m excited or tense.<\/em><\/p>\n But this osprey photo is an example of another reason. Because I was basically hand holding my huge, heavy lens I’m sure it would have been soft if I’d been shooting at a significantly slower shutter speed. Fast SS’s are damn near magic in their ability to mitigate the unfortunate effects of camera shake.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Birds were slow in the mountains yesterday but there were a couple of bright spots and one of them was totally unexpected.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/osprey-2014-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"osprey-2014-ron-dudley\\"")
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