Western Bluebird on final approach

[Diane_Miller]

A couple of weeks ago the Bluebirds were building a nest and I saw they repeatedly landed on the perch from the same direction. I quickly set up and made a guess at the best focal plane and went to manual focus. I was on a tripod and as one approached I started firing a burst in electronic shutter at 20 fps. The perch was in full sun but that’s when the behavior was occurring, and at least it let me go for a reasonably high ss. Out of about 5 approaches this was the best focus, but not the prettiest wing position.

Specific Feedback Requested

All comments welcome!

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Canon R5, 100-500 + 2X, 900mm, wide open at f/13, 1/1250 sec at ISO 3200. Minor tonal adjustments in LR, minor crop for comp. Into PS for Topaz DeNoise and removal of a bit of the house on the left. Very minor BG smoothing in a few areas.

[Kris_Smith (Kristen M Smith)]

Oh how fun. Looks like its molting - missing tail feathers. The full sun doesn’t bother me, I like how it’s lit up the feathers. I think you could bring down the shadows a little and it would still be an excellent frozen moment.

[terryb (Terry Brunholtz)]

You froze this moment nicely. A bit of harsh light, but certainly not blown. A really nice look at this behavioral moment.

[Shirley_Freeman]

Great incoming shot of this Bluebird, Diane. I might have to try your method of manual focus and a nice deep f-stop. I hadn’t tried that. I have managed to capture a few inflight shots, but it isn’t easy. I think ours is nesting now, and I feel so sorry for the female, as I know it must be very hot in the nest box.