Dear Readers, I think I might be a little hooked on this bird photography caper.  As my True Love took some annual leave in early August, we’ve had plenty of opportunities to take some short excursions around our local environs to check out the birds and other creatures.

The topic of this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge is Framing The Shot, so I thought I would choose a few bird photos to show you.  My True Love is much better at framing his shots.  Unlike me, he knows what he is doing.  Because I am relative beginner in this field, I really only have one objective when I take photos and that is to get the subject in focus.

One day when I headed out on my own, I came across two Great Cormorants at our local park.  I  really wanted to share my excitement (via some photos) with you.  However, the bright sun, and its reflection on the moving water, was causing me all sorts of problems getting the birds in focus.  Also, I couldn’t get close enough to them which compounded the problem.   Where was my True Love when I needed him?  So I did the best I could.  The photo is much darker than it was in real life.  Nevertheless, I think it turned out rather arty farty — a real fluke, but a nice one.

great cormorants

According to Amy who set the challenge, framing can help direct the viewers’ eyes to where you want them to look.  In my scramble to get the next shot, I might have gone overboard on the framing.  Maybe I should have made the subject clearer?

wren

Here is my True Love’s photo.  The green, silver and gold accents which frame his photo just take my breath away.  Same bird, same time.  Two differently framed stories.  Incidentally, some designers believe you shouldn’t mix gold and silver.  Nature knows better.

wren2

Now for the darter.  l had to snap quickly and hope for the best when we saw this juvenile darter in the distance.

darter again

Here’s my True Love’s photo of the darter.

?????

Woops.  I am sure it would have been a great shot if that dang fisher-bloke hadn’t startled the darter.  Oh well, maybe next time.

Stay tuned for more lovely bird photos from our recent holiday.

Kind Regards
Tracy

54 thoughts on “Birds Of A Feather”

  1. I love the Great Cormorant shot Tracy 🙂💜 They have such a distinctive silhouette it can work really well even when the light appears behind them 🙂💖 xxx

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  4. I so enjoy you bird captures and stories. The first one is so cute. The image of the green, silver and gold accents is so beautifully framed, my favorite.
    Thank you, Tracy for sharing! 🙂

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    1. Hi Amy, thanks so much. I took quite a few photos over the last few days with your prompt in mind but for me, the bird photos were always my preferred choice. I’m so biased. 🙂 I’ll pass on your appreciation to my husband who took that beautiful wren photo. Kind regards. Tracy.

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  10. Framing the shot is certainly better than shooting the bird! Unless framing and shooting happens concurrently by doing it all through a lens. The true love missed the target with the dart(er).

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  13. The West Coast Cormorants are often seen at the mouth of the harbour perching on weed covered rocks or bobbing along on logs but seldom are seen preening dock side. Your Cormorants seem so tame. Are they? Super shots of an usually elusive pair.

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    1. They are not tame at all, Sid. If they were, I think I probably would have seen them there before. The birds quickly scarpered when some young people approached them. Hopefully the cormorants have gone to a quieter part of our lake because I would like to see them again.

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  21. I never think much about what I’m doing with my camera either, Tracy – if it’s sharp, it’s good. 😄 Love the cormorans and their long shadow on the pier, it looks like they’re about to take off into the setting sun.

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  22. “To get the subject in focus.” That’s a pretty solid goal, one that can be achieved in many ways. You’ve been doing well in this area for a long time.
    Framing is everything but also an eye for what’s interesting.

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