Burning Nature Photography Informs As He Shares GreatBirdPics
I appreciate all our members who share their bird photographs with us. Some share a pic now and then, others share many after a trip to see exotic birds, and some send in their GreatBirdPics on a regular basis. Ever since he joined, Burningnaturephotography (BNP) has been sharing his bird photographs and photo techniques with us on a regularly. It’s impossible to feature all of his pics here but I thought I would bring your attention to some of my favorites. Take a look:
Here’s a Black-crowned Night Heron preening – a single feather catches our attention yet all the other elements of the heron are also present, including the red eye and the white plume cascading down its neck. One thing I have learned while appreciating BNP’s pictures is that the subject doesn’t have to be centered – it can be an effective way of getting the viewer to look carefully at image.
This next picture from BNP is of a common Downy Woodpecker. First notice that BNP has elongated the horizontal axis of the frame to a non-traditional aspect ratio. By doing so he again places the bird off-center, which invites us to look at the beautiful bark of the limb the Downy sits on. Also note the exposure of the image – it is on the dark side, evoking an overcast winter morning. I also tend to underexpose my images; bright images are more difficult for me to look at. What’s your exposure preference?
BNP’s next picture is striking because of its subject – Pileated Woodpecker chicks! I’ve never seen one before so this image caught my attention. In his Location description BNP wrote, “Exact Location not shared for the safety of the birds.” I applaud this – I’ve seen several instances where a novel bird sighting drew a crowd of birders (and bird photographers). As I looked at the photo I wondered if it could have been improved by cropping it so that the entire fungus growth just the right of the chicks is exposed. It could have been interesting to see the chicks balanced by the fungus in the shot.
The last photograph by BNP I’m sharing today is an amazing shot – a Peregrine Falcon flyby. Peregrines are about the fastest birds around and to get such a good shot of one speaks to the skills of the photographer. Click the pic and read more about how he got such a GreatBirdPic.
Thanks to Burningnaturephotography for not only sharing his great bird photographs but writing about his techniques used to obtain such great shots. His compositions, leaving the bird off-center many times, have inspired me to do the same on occasion.
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