KInd of an odd title for a post, right? Well, it was kind of an odd day. Very satisfying in the end, but the way it started had me wondering.
I had planned on going out early on Thursday. I checked the weather the night before and the rain was supposed to end by 3am so I have should have no issues the next morning. So, guess what it was doing at 6am the next morning? As I drove up to my spot in the rain (I know better than to cancel a shoot on the word of the weatherman), I was trying to come up with an alternate plan to salvage the morning. I knew it wasn’t going to rain all day and I’m too stubborn to give up that easy.
But my luck turned for the better when I got there. The rain had turned to a fine mist and then stopped altogether, only to be replaced by thick, wet fog. This ended up working in my favor because the fog would help me setup without alarming the birds. The only question was how long it would take for the fog to burn off so I could get some decent images.
I don’t know what they’re looking at either…. maybe somebody dropped a contact…
At 6:30, half an hour before sunrise, I was able to start figuring out how I wanted to deal with the fog. Images with fog are a double-edged sword. On one hand fog can add an ethereal sort of look to the image, but too much fog is very tough on the autofocus system. It’s the same as shooting in a heavy haze. So I was praying for the fog to lift soon because the courtship rituals were starting.
Do I know you??? Or, hey do you come here often???
Many times, they act like they don’t know who the strange bird is next to them. It’s a very clumsy kind of courtship in the beginning, kind of like watching 12-year-old kids at their first school dance. You remember, don’t you?
Well, they finally get around to a little bit of snogging (look it up) and the damn birds are on the wrong side of the tree!!!!
Again with the wrong side!!! I’m getting a complex here! Don’t they like me????
Finally they see it my way and move to my side of the tree! The courtship can be very intricate and involved but these two had just met, so it was just some harmless jousting!!!
I knew that I had to work quickly, because the Sun was just starting to peek up over the hill and I knew the light would change very quickly now. And not for the better. After each of these brief skirmishes they go back to ignoring each other again. Eventually they will realize that at some point they’re supposed to mate! And take note of the color of the light because you will see how quickly it will change…..
Are these birds beautiful or what??????
Look at the difference in the color of the light compared to the previous images. All it took was few short minutes for the light intensity and direction to change.
Fifteen minutes after this image and the good light was gone, replaced by harsh directional light that doesn’t work for these shots.
So what do you do when the light turns to crap? My advice would be to just put your camera down and enjoy the day for what it is, a nice sunny, beautiful day! And be glad you were alive to see it! Spend enough time out here and you will realize how lucky you are to be a part of this thing we call nature……. More to come!
