Catching Flies

Gallery: AvianPosted January 9, 201678 views3 comments

Hi all! As this is my first post in the Avian gallery this year, here's wishing you all the best in your photographic (and other) endeavors in 2016!

It's funny how all summer I was wishing for winter, and at -24C yesterday evening, I found myself wishing for summer. So I thought I'd post this one, as I was wiping the sweat from my face when I took it, trapped in my blind on a very warm summer's evening last year.

Josiah and I were set up to photograph the osprey family that lives in the rec land beside us when I noticed that a few red-winged blackbirds were catching bugs against the setting sun behind us. I don't know if it was the drama of the moment or sweat dripping into my eyes, but I failed to notice a blade of grass intruding into the frame on the right, which gives the sky the darker band/section here. cheeky

Hey--I'll go "glass half-full" and say it adds to the art-factor of the scene. angel

Looking forward to your feedback on this one...it's one of those frames that I don't know about...it works for me, but that's undoubtedly tied to the memory of the evening with Josiah as well.

Thanks in advance...please view the larger version if you have time!

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Nikon D600
Nikkor AF-S 500mm f/4D IF-ED
ISO 400
1/1600sec @ f/8
-0.3 stops exposure from meter
Mounted on FEISOL CT-3372 Elite tripod with Acratech GV2 ballhead and Wimberley Sidekick

Comments

3 comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 9, 2016 at 11:05 PM

I like this a lot, John. It's a really neat evening scene and the silhouette presentation works very well. The foreground grass blade isn't an issue with me-it certainly isn't bold enough to be distracting.

devil

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

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on January 10, 2016 at 1:27 PM

The bugs in SW Alberta might be very, very tough to be out and about at -24°C. But it is a great capture and comp, against a sweet background. Well seen and shot, John.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on January 10, 2016 at 9:18 PM

Nice silhouette John. I didn't even notice the blade of grass, so it wasn't a distraction to me at all. I do find myself wishing you have a bit more DOF in this to get the fence on the right hand side in focus. Being a silhouette, I think having the dark pieces all in focus would have made this an even stronger image. Still nice work!

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments