Eastern Meadowlark

Gallery: AvianPosted March 29, 201192 views10 comments

These birds are tougher to get close to than American Kestrels if you can believe that. . .not sure why that is as it seems that their Western counterparts are quite friendly. Caught this one as it flew past and liked that there were some OOF trees to provide a little bit of atmosphere

Nikon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC HH
f/9
1/2000s
ISO 500
-.33 EC

Swapped the eye out for the eye in the next frame as the N. membrane was showing on the original, cropped to 37% of original, global levels adjustment, sharpened using smart sharpen in CS5 on 27" iMac

- Luke

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on March 29, 2011 at 9:08 PM

Congrats on getting this shot, Luke. I have been trying for what seems like forever to get a decent sitting or flying shot of these guys with no luck. Nicely composed and I agree the OOF trees make a nice background. Nice job with the eye.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on March 29, 2011 at 9:09 PM

Good exposure and wing position. Even in the larger view it is a bit hard to judge detail, but I agree with you that the OOF trees help to provide a reference point and stabilize the comp.

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on March 29, 2011 at 9:18 PM

Nice to catch this speedster in flight Luke, it looks pretty good despite the small size in the frame and crop. I like the inclusion of the trees at the bottom to give it a sense of depth.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on March 30, 2011 at 1:34 AM

Good catch. There guys usually fly so close to the ground that its almost impossible to capture them and not have the autofocus go after the vegetation.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on March 30, 2011 at 2:17 AM

I'd be happy to get this excellent quality with the slowest flying bird on the planet, doesn't have to attractive or colourful, just so long as it's as wonderfully sharp and beautifully detailed as this one of yours Luke ;^)

Seriously, marvelous shot, excellent composition and, yep, those OOF treetops really enhance the image as a whole :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on March 30, 2011 at 7:04 AM

I like the comp Luke. I also agree the trees help add interest to the image. For me, the large crop is showing in the large version as the detail in the bird is lacking some. I understand how hard it is to get small birds like this in flight, but for me I would like to see more detail. Nothing like a good challenge, right?

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on March 30, 2011 at 8:31 AM

Luke, I pretty much echo Ron's comments, but getting one of these in flight and sharp is even harder than getting close to them...they are fast little buggars....so great job even getting this. Believe it or not, the Western brothers also don't like to be approached. My only luck has ALWAYS been using a blind or at least car as a blind. We get a ton of them in Colorado, so usually it takes me approaching about 20 or so, before I find one that will stay still while I am in the car.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on March 30, 2011 at 12:26 PM

Great in flight pose. I like your composition with the placement of the bird in the frame and the trees in the bg.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Jenaya Launstein on March 30, 2011 at 3:27 PM

Cool picture! I really like his colours against the sky, and I also like the out of focus trees in the background.

My dad and I recently saw some Western Meadowlarks, but they were very flighty, so I am still hoping to get some good shots of them.

Registered on February 8, 2011, 254 Posts, 1302 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on March 30, 2011 at 9:54 PM

Wonderful to get a flight shot of this bird, Luke. The Western's out here seem pretty skittish to me. Nice wing position.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments