Sometimes I have to rely on subtle clues to figure out what’s really going on in my own images. And I was there!
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Ten days ago I photographed a swarm of Barn Swallows as they were gathering mud for their nests on Antelope Island. When I was culling those images a few days ago I didn’t delete this one because I thought it was pretty unusual to catch a Barn Swallow as it was landing – in fact I don’t remember ever having seen an image of any swallow as it was landing. Other than that I don’t think it’s a great photo but closer inspection reveals that one of my assumptions about the image is not correct and I wonder if some of my readers make the same initial mistake.
So, what do you think is happening or about to happen here?
My initial impression was that the swallow is about to land on the rock below its feet but after closer inspection I’m sure that’s not the case. If the rock were directly below the bird it should be in roughly the same plane as the feet of the swallow and the rock and the feet should be equally sharp. But notice that the rock is significantly softer than the feet of the bird. At these focal lengths I have very little depth of field and the relative softness of the rock tells me that it’s on the far side of the swallow which is about to land in the water in front of the rock.
My eye was fooled by two things:
- the obvious landing posture of the bird with the rock in apparent position to be the landing spot
- the way the toes of the left foot conform to the shape of the upper surface of the rock
I’ve misinterpreted images I’ve posted in the past only to have readers point out my error and that can be embarrassing so I’ve learned to be pretty careful about such things. But this one I almost missed.
Much ado about nothing I suppose but I think it’s interesting that we (I) can so easily be fooled by something in an image.
Ron
PS – The next shot in the burst would either confirm or disprove my theory but if that image ever existed I’ve deleted it.
PSS – Just before I published this post I thought of another way I might be able to confirm my theory, or not…
A different crop of the same image includes the reflection of the feet of the bird. If the rock were really directly under the feet it would appear there in the reflection. It does not. For me that confirms it – the bird was about to land in the water, not on the rock.
What a wonderful look at this swallow Ron!
Charlotte
Isn’t it interesting that the reflection (so often a tricky and misleading beast) was the confirmation that you were right that the barn swallow was going for a splashdown rather than a touchdown.
I too am easily fooled – and easily amused.
Still tickled by the thought of a swarm of barn swallows too.
EC, A swarm is what they seemed like at the time so I just went with it!
Fooled me! But that’s pretty darned easy to do… 🙁
I don’t think so, Patty…
What confused me about the top shot is the reflection of the second swallow, who is otherwise almost invisible. But the reflection in that first shot, without the reflection of the feet in the second, made it look as if the bird in focus was coming down at an odd angle, which was impossible. Weird. The second shot, with two reflections of two birds, clears that up!
Another perspective, like we get with the addition of the second version of the image, is often helpful in sorting things out, Sallie.
Very observant, Ron!!! Applause!!!! I adore these birdies … your image with the wings high really gives us a glimpse of that glorious warm buff underbelly. We’ve suddenly seen a boat-load of swallows here … that flash of gold on their little tummies is always a treat to see!!!
We have oodles of them here too, Lois – they’re always a welcome addition to the birds I see and photograph.
Cool! I love it!
Thank you, Gail.
Definitely fooled me. I think I don’t look at most images like this as closely as needed to see things like the softness of the rock. It was obvious after I read what you wrote about it, as well as in the second crop. Maybe I should wait to look at your posts until after I’ve had my coffee (which I don’t drink – don’t drink anything with caffeine…) 🙂
Susan, I HAVE to look at images carefully when I’m processing them so I notice things I might not otherwise, coffee or not…
Fooled me too! Is that a second bird mostly obscured by the first? The reflection in both versions seem to include more than the landing bird, and I see a pair of legs on the ground behind the first. I always enjoy photos of Barn Swallows but have never seen a posture like this – very cool!
Nancy, yes, there’s another bird behind the swallow that is landing. We can see its leg coming down from under the wing of the foreground bird. Good eye to notice those legs of the rear bird in the reflection.
Interesting shot. My first impression was that the Barn Swallow was going to land close to the mud due to the reflection at the bottom of the picture. The reflection is in focus and the rock is not. Sorry, my mind through out the rock because it was out of focus, and the fact that from my experience swallows land right in the mud they are gathering.
Dick, apparently you have a more discerning eye than I do – good for you.
Actually I photographed these birds on rocks in or near the water at least as often as I photographed them in the water or mud. I had the distinct impression that they often tried to avoid getting muddy feet whenever possible. Maybe that’s one of the reasons that I assumed the bird was about to land on the rock.
I wish I had a picture to show you of Barn Swallows standing in water while they were picking up mud right next to the waters edge. I guess western swallows are much cleaner than eastern swallows. LOL
Don’t get me wrong – plenty of these birds were standing in mud/water as they were gathering mud. But just as often they landed on the small rocks to collect it.
Interesting! Optical illusion for sure. 🙂 Nice shot of the swallow. 🙂
Judy, it fooled me at first, that’s for sure.