This first photo is about as close to a “perfect” shot as I ever get.
To be sure I don’t think there is such a thing as a perfect shot, at least in nature photography. I know I don’t have any. But if your definition of perfect includes all the elements that those who shoot setups in bird photography strive for this image comes pretty darned close. And no, I didn’t set this shot up. Everything just came together naturally.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Slightly less than a year ago while I was shooting a variety of other birds in a remote area of Box Elder County this Sage Thrasher landed on an ideal spot on a wild rose and posed for some time. I like virtually everything about this shot including but not limited to the jaunty foot-forward pose, the placement of the colorful rose hips, the background, the composition and the even lighting on both bird and perch. The thrasher is sharp and there’s oodles of detail, in part because this image has been cropped very little (it’s 88% of the original image, 17.6MP out of 20MP).
Since I don’t shoot setups this kind of thing rarely happens with me so when it does I sit up and take notice.
After such a productive session with this bird I should have known that when it decided to take off a dandy flight or takeoff shot was too much to ask for. My hopes were up anyway.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, canvas added for composition, not baited, set up or called in
But when it eventually launched it took off behind and very close to the top twig and rose hips which meant it had to wait to open its wings so all I got is this “bullet shot” as he seemed to be running in air.
So, is the first photo above one of my all time favorites? Well…. sorta, but “perfect” doesn’t necessarily translate to favorite. Being a behavior kind of guy I actually like some of my behavioral shots better (a Bald Eagle eating a fish in midair, a Black-billed Magpie in flight carrying nesting material and a Prairie Falcon in flight with a duck in its talons come to mind but there are others).
Berries and rose hips seem to be late this year because of our cold and wet spring but I’m hoping for some colorful opportunities with birds feeding on the berries in weeks to come.
Right now birds are very slow.
Ron
Very nice! I like the intense look in the bird’s eye with the 2nd shot.
Thank you, Jean.
I love these shots.
Thanks, Jane.
I know this shot wasn’t set up because if you WERE one of those arses that creates artificial conditions for “nature” shots, you would gave removed the pesky branch by the bird’s chest! 😂😂 (See, professor, you’ve trained me to look for nits to pick.😈)
As much as I like your serendipitous first shot, I must admit that the second shot is my favorite. I burst out laughing at the image of the bird doing a cartoon-like run through the air.
Yup, that “pesky branch” was EXACTLY why I said in my text “I like virtually everything about this shot” instead of leaving virtually out of the sentence. You’ve got me pegged, Marty!
Wait until you see tomorrow’s post. There’s quite a bit of stuff in front of the bird.
The second is unsuslnand interesting ,but tge first is a definite favorite…
Thanks, Patty.
Awe and wonder. Not least because your perenially picky self likes it too. I really like the bullet as it leaves the starting pistol too.
Thank you, EC. I like a lot of my shots and none of them are perfect, just like the photographer… 🙂
You come a damn sight closer than most.
A beautiful image and as close to perfection as so many of your photos are.
Thank you, Lyle.
It is an amazingly beautiful shot but yes I get it about the behavior element. I haven’t been doing bird photography as long as you, and I am tired of all my photos of birds on a stick. I don’t know if you have influenced me or not, but now I take many less photos. I sit with my camera focused on a bird waiting for something to happen before I fire a burst off.
Good to know, April. I spend a ridiculous amount of time with my finger tensely on the half-depressed shutter button waiting for something to happen. You have to be ready because it usually happens so fast. That said, I always take at least a few shots while they’re just sitting there perched too. Just slight changes in their poses can make a big difference.
Remarkable photo Ron, and especially as you always indicate – no setup just photographing what is available. The Thrasher itself is near perfect. Everything is so sharp and the catch eye is special. The berries and even the shrub itself appear near perfect as well. If I had taken this I might even have framed it. A beautiful flawless photo.
Almost 11 am and I am just getting to Feathered Photography. Somehow got busy early and forgot all about it. 🙂
Thanks very much, Everett. Who knows, maybe I’ll frame it someday. Thanks for putting the thought in my head.
Beautiful photos. I don’t try to define perfect because that changes from moment to moment and person to person, but this is as close as it gets. Especially of an elusive bird.We don’t have them here so I have to travel to sagebrush country to see them and when I do they can be rather shy. They can also be very tricky because they are such good vocal mimics. More than once, the Sora I was looking for turned out to be a Sage Thrasher, and I shouldn’t dismiss what sounds like a Red-winged Blackbird because a close look may reveal a thrasher. Their mimicry is part of their charm and I’m always on the lookout for a Sage Thrasher when I’m in the right habitat.
Thank you, Dan. Mimics are always fun, and often a challenge. Where these shots were taken there were also Northern Mockingbirds so needless to say things could get a little confusing.
Great photos…one perfect , the other totally unique…running on air! I can’t think of a thing that would need changing in your first photo. Love the gray feathers on this bird; I’m used to our Brown Thrasher…but the eyes are certainly the same, very intense. I remember seeing the Curved-billed Thrasher sitting on top of cactus when I was in Arizona as I was driving through..
.didn’t need anyone to tell me it was a thrasher…the same intense eyes!
The Sage Thrasher is the only thrasher species I’ve photographed, Kathy. Love to see the others one day. Thanks.
What a great point you make about “perfect” versus “favorite”! As you pointed out, there’s no such thing as a “perfect” photograph in nature, but your thrasher is as good as gets, in my opinion. The second shot I like nearly as much as it’s an action shot and that “launch” profile is great.
The images you mention as being memorable due to a certain behavior definitely made me think of my own favorites. Sure enough, the ones depicting some sort of behavior immediately came to mind.
Thank you, Ron, for sharing more “learning acquired from experience”!
Yes, there’s just something extra special about behavioral shots when they’re done well, at least for some of us. Thank you, Wally.
Phenomenal shots Ron!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
Spectacular photo, Ron! I’ve only seen a handful of Sage Thrashers- on birding trips out west- and I’ve never seen one well. They’ve all been distant, or tucked in a thicket, or horribly backlit. This is how I want to see one!!! Guess that means I just need to plan another western trip! Thanks again for a beautiful start to the day.
That’s usually my experience with them too, Diane. I guess this feller didn’t know he’s a Sage Thrasher…
The first shot IS close to perfect…. 🙂 Love the “roadrunner” 2nd shot tho even it it foiled you on wings being out….. 😉 The older photos of the eagle/magpie/falcon are ALL wonderful shots – good reminders that you DO capture some amazing photos even if not a “kazillion” – might get boring if they were all magnificent..;) As much as I have mixed feelings about magpies the shot with the light though it’s wings REALLY “grabs me”…… 🙂
“might get boring if they were all magnificent”
Exactly, Judy. That’s kind of a corollary to one of my favorite sayings – “If bird photography was easy everyone could do it well”.
I agree that the first shot belongs in the “perfect” category ! Everything about it– and the rose hips add such gorgeous color that somehow they accent the more prosaic
markings of the bird and make them seem classic and strong………the second shot made me laugh out loud—reminded me of Wiley Coyote, just realizing that the Roadrunner
has yet again led him off a cliff !
Ha, I see what you mean about bringing ol’ Wiley to mind. Thanks, Kris.
As much as I like the Sage Thrasher, my batting average is terrible with your other shots. Only 1 of three. I really remember the eagle shot. What a supper series!! Of the two I missed I have to put my money on the Falcon. Not that the Magpie aren’t great shots, but I tend to be a bird of prey guy! Birds are slow here as well, except for the Red-wings bulking up and competing at the feeders.
Thanks for sharing, wonderful shots.
Thanks, Dick. Among other reasons I love that Prairie Falcon shot for its incredibly high degree of difficulty. Getting any kind of Prairie Falcon photo is difficult to begin with, one in flight ups the ante significantly and one in flight with prey is an exponential increase in degree of difficulty.
I adore this picture. It is so engaging! What looks like JAB (just another bird) is really a quietly flashy fella. The rose hips really give little pops of color but the bird is the centerpiece. 😀 I would hang this in my home, professor. It is really spectacular. Good morning from New Mexico! The Sandias are gorgeous today.
“What looks like JAB (just another bird) is really a quietly flashy fella.”
I agree, Arwen. Sage Thrashers generally don’t seem to garner a lot of attention from my viewers but I’m in the opposite camp. I like their plumage patterns and I think that yellow iris adds some of the flash you mention. In addition they have attitude that comes out in both their photos and their behavior.
And good morning to you too my friend.