Rarely do I find a bird that cooperates this much with the photographer, to the point of altering and improving the setting himself.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Just over three years ago I found this male Lazuli Bunting perched completely out in the open on a serviceberry branch in the Wasatch Mountains. My heart skipped a beat because I think the males of this species are among our most beautiful songbirds and I rarely (as in almost never) get opportunities with them in breeding colors when they’re out in the open with clean backgrounds.
To me this photo looks like it could be a setup. I can assure you, it isn’t.
Most of the time he was looking to his right, with the tallest vertical stem in that direction directly in front of his face, so I hoped he’d eventually look to his left to provide a composition I’d like much better. It took a while but eventually he did, but only for long enough for me to get two photos. This is one of them. The other one isn’t quite as sharp.
And he even held that leaf down and out of the way with his left foot, the only leaf that would have significantly blocked our view of part of him.
Good bird.
Ron
I carry a Lapis Lazuli “Globe Marble” in my pocket constantly. Beautiful color, but it might have supported the Taliban… Oh well.
I believe he knows he is worth memorializing. Amazing photo.
Take Care,
Kaye
Thanks, Kaye. Maybe he does…
WHAT a good bird he was. And what a beauty.
I agree on both counts, EC.
The colors on this handsome guy! Excellent photo Ron – the pose, the setting and those glorious colors!
Thank you, Kathleen.
Beautiful image. I am lucky and get them in my yard during spring migration.
Thanks, April. Yes, you’re lucky!
AWSOME!
Charlotte Norton
Thanks.
Perfect! You can feel the fuzz on the leaves! The one little berry in the lower left, and, of course, the bird!
Thank you, Carolyn.
I wish I could train my bird subjects so well!
🙂
Oh my, Ron! It doesn’t get much better than this!
Much appreciated, Diane.
Beautiful! We haven’t seen one here in many years – they’ve always been a rare occurance! 🙂 Awhile before I figured out they weren’t a Blue Bird….. 😉
Yes, Winter Wheat. 42 and rain this morning – we’ll take it! 🙂
Thanks, Judy. 56° here, cloudy with rain in the forecast. The clouds kept the temps up last night.
Is his blue pigment, or light refraction? I once read that blue in feathers is often not a pigment.
You’re right, Sallie. It’s a structural color. No bird can make blue pigments.
Interesting! Kind of like Polar Bears not really being white but rather hair being hollow……
Ron – not sure if my computer or what, but no image.
Everett, when that happens it’s usually fixed if you clear your cache. Even rebooting your computer might help.
Well, on 2nd try I got it. Beautiful photo. Love their colors as I am sure most do. Two days ago at one of our lakes I was taking photos of a few females and hoping a male would show up, but never did.
Thanks, Everett. Glad you got it working. The females are beautiful too, but the males are simply spectacular.
Along with you and Kenneth, I, too, had a very pleasurable “brain
sear” from my first and only sight of male Lazuli Buntings–plural.
A small group of them-all male-were gathered on the stones under
my bird feeder, scarfing up spilled seed, out in the woods in Prescott,
AZ. Never, EVER, will I forget those glowing colors !!!
Kris, I understand why you won’t forget it.
Great photo. Beautiful bird. Never seen one in the wild.
Love your attention to detail. Case in point; when you wait and hope for a head turn to optimize to composition.
It’s perfect. Well done!
“when you wait and hope for a head turn to optimize to composition.”
Michael, it took me longer than it should have to learn stuff like that, including changing my position slightly (often only a few inches) to improve the background. In the heat of the moment it’s easy to not even think of things like that but now it’s almost automatic. Kind of like muscle memory.
Beautiful image. I will never forget my closest and best view of one along the Chama River in arid Abiquiu, New Mexico. In those days I was not into photography and the image was seared into my brain, as were so many from my younger years. Just seeing a bird provided sufficient satisfaction. Now I sometimes must look at photos to revive my memories.
Kenneth, my first closeup experience with these birds is also seared into my memory – at Utah’s San Rafael Swell. I’ll never forget it.