Scissor-tailed Flycatche

Gallery: AvianPosted June 22, 2011190 views12 comments

Brazoria NWR June, 2011. Putting my new backyard skills to the test.

D3 ISO 400. 300/2.8 with 2x tc. f5.6 1/2000s. Natural Light. Resting on car window.

I was photographing this flycatcher, sitting on the perch pictured, in the wildlife refuge. As I sat on this gravel road, some cowboy in a 15' tall truck came up from behind me at 50mph. He didn't slow down or show any courtesy at all. Dirt and rocks flew everywhere. I had some choice words for him, but when I checked the screen I had 2 excellent flight shots of this bird. In the end, I thanked the truck driver. But I had to clean my sensor because the camera was covered in dust.

I am uncertain of the exact phenomenon whereby the sky is darker on each side of the image. Physics was not my strong suit in school. If anyone cares to comment on this, I would love to know.

Comments

12 comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on June 22, 2011 at 9:55 AM

Nice catch, Angela, even if spooked by the truck. I like the wing position.

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

Comment posted by Jeffry Oonk on June 22, 2011 at 1:09 PM

Great shot, with lovely details on the feathers.
Nice red touch and funny pose of the bird (maybe checking out that truck driver as well...)
Thx Angela for sharing.

Registered on February 5, 2011, 21 Posts, 122 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on June 22, 2011 at 3:44 PM

The larger version shows some nice detail in the bird Angela. I like the position of the bird. I might take a bit off the top and bottom to give less of a squarish comp, but that is just my taste talking.

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

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on June 22, 2011 at 6:43 PM

Wonderful Angela, I like the pose and the details are outstanding.
ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on June 22, 2011 at 6:59 PM

Nice action. I especially like the extended feet.

The darkening is light falloff. Almost all lenses have this to some degree; wide angle lenses are usually the worst. It is usually masked by normal background detail. A uniform sky is the place it shows the most. It is compounded by the use of a teleconverter, and on your full frame sensor it is more noticeable than it is on my DX sensor.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on June 22, 2011 at 11:01 PM

Thank you, Richard.

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

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on June 22, 2011 at 11:45 PM

Another terrific shot Angela :^)

Much like Ron, I'd prefer to see this with a little sliced from the upper edge of the frame.

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

Comment posted by Ken Archer on June 23, 2011 at 4:12 AM

Cool photo Angela

Excellent wing and head position, I agree with the comp suggestions.

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on June 23, 2011 at 2:58 PM

What a great capture - even if you had to endure the jerk. Cool position , nice look toward you (or the jerk) and good perch/placement.
If possible, a larger crop would be great .
Really nice!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on June 23, 2011 at 11:03 PM

Purchase Print leads to cropped photo. Thanks to you all.

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

Comment posted by Jeff Loomis on June 23, 2011 at 11:07 PM

Nice to have a keeper despite the rude truck driver. The large version is especially nice, with really good detail. I do see a white line in the lrc. It could be easily cloned out, but I like the crop idea even better. Maybe 20% off the top and right.

Registered on January 26, 2010, 68 Posts, 719 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on June 24, 2011 at 10:07 AM

Recropped. The white in the LRC was spider silk

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