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Tree Swallow

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted June 9, 2016124 views8 comments

The nice thing about shooting in the back yard is that the birds eventually become fairly complacent, allowing one to experiment with composition more than is usually possible with less habituated birds. This guy posed for quite some time, allowing me to change positions and tripod heights without being bothered at all. Part of that may have been the cold morning with the bugs not flying yet, but I'll take it regardless of the cause.

7DII, Sigma 150-600 C @ 600 mm, Wimberley Sidekick on Z1 ballhead on RRS legs, f/6.3, a/250, iso 800, aperture priority, pattern metering, -1/3 EV. Processed in LR5 & CS6. Full frame. Taken at 6:02 AM today.

Comments and criticisms are always welcome.

Thanks,

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Gary Minish on June 10, 2016 at 1:49 AM

A very artistic capture, Dennis! I especially like the cool morning feeling of the scene which the blue flowers help accentuate. Swallows are very difficult to capture because they are very fast and always on the move. It appears the secret is to catch them when it's cold out enlightened

Registered on February 4, 2006, 625 Posts, 3583 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Gavin on June 10, 2016 at 2:25 AM

Although I like both photos, I prefer this one. The hazy or foggy appearance and the swallow's grumpy look are exceptional.

Registered on August 14, 2008, 293 Posts, 1250 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on June 10, 2016 at 8:36 AM

Beautiful, Dennis. Perfectly composed and the oof flowers make this outstanding.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on June 10, 2016 at 1:03 PM

Dennis, it looks like some of the blue flowers were in front of the swallow. That adds a lot to the artistry of the image. Funny how birds almost always look grumpy and in this case his hunkered down with the cold posture adds to that grumpy sense. The blue flowers are a great addition.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on June 10, 2016 at 11:29 PM

A very creative swallow image! I like the blue flowers, but for me anyway, would like to see the swallow a bit sharper. thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on June 11, 2016 at 5:54 AM

Pure art, Dennis ! So nice that the bird is partly covered in the wash of blue from what I imagine may be cornflowers - its front parts stand out beautifully in this sea of delicately toned colour.

Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments

Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on June 11, 2016 at 2:01 PM

The flowers really make this. The fact that they're all OOF is a real plus.

Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy de Flon on June 11, 2016 at 9:35 PM

I like the way the selective focus has isolated the bird and given the image an artistic look. This looks like the Tree Swallow version of that grumpy bluebird photo that was popular a few years back.

Registered on June 28, 2010, 61 Posts, 284 Comments