I never seem to make life easy for myself. Photography can be as challenging as you want to make it and this is a simple example of everything coming together.

The series of a Bewick's wren returning to the nest with food took about 5 hours. This selection was a series captured from a single series. Some logistical problems had to be solved before, and while, attempting the capture. One was the limited window of time the wren's nest box was exposed to direct sunlight had to be utilized due to the high-speed nature of the capture. Read "lots of light for fast shutter speeds and low ISO for those of you who know a bit about photography".

Working in close, I had to estimate the flight path as best as possible because the Depth of Field for close-up shooting is small. Which means the area in front and in back of the specific plane being focused on gets blurry very fast.

I also had to guess at when the bird would launch from the top of the box, due to a 180 degree turn the bird would have to perform in the air to enter the box at a lower level. Sounds simple, but the bird completes its turn in this series of 8 frames. The camera was set to record at 28 FPS. That would mean you have to capture an event that takes place in approximately 1/3 of a second.

The wrens visit the nest approximately 3 times per hour. This nest box is also fairly high off of the ground and the location dictated the use of a folding ladder which I was sitting atop. All this in today’s heat. Thank goodness I could hold my umbrella over me as I waited for the magic moments.

Am I a bit silly? Hmmm? Probably. But I am enjoying the results, and I will now go take a short nap. Enjoy.

I never seem to make life easy for myself. Photography can be as challenging as you want to make it and this is a simple example of everything coming together.

The series of a Bewick's wren returning to the nest with food took about 5 hours. This selection was a series captured from a single series. Some logistical problems had to be solved before, and while, attempting the capture. One was the limited window of time the wren's nest box was exposed to direct sunlight had to be utilized due to the high-speed nature of the capture. Read "lots of light for fast shutter speeds and low ISO for those of you who know a bit about photography".

Working in close, I had to estimate the flight path as best as possible because the Depth of Field for close-up shooting is small. Which means the area in front and in back of the specific plane being focused on gets blurry very fast.

I also had to guess at when the bird would launch from the top of the box, due to a 180 degree turn the bird would have to perform in the air to enter the box at a lower level. Sounds simple, but the bird completes its turn in this series of 8 frames. The camera was set to record at 28 FPS. That would mean you have to capture an event that takes place in approximately 1/3 of a second.

The wrens visit the nest approximately 3 times per hour. This nest box is also fairly high off of the ground and the location dictated the use of a folding ladder which I was sitting atop. All this in today’s heat. Thank goodness I could hold my umbrella over me as I waited for the magic moments.

Am I a bit silly? Hmmm? Probably. But I am enjoying the results, and I will now go take a short nap. Enjoy.

I never seem to make life easy for myself. Photography can be as challenging as you want to make it and this is a simple example of everything coming together.

The series of a Bewick's wren returning to the nest with food took about 5 hours. This selection was a series captured from a single series. Some logistical problems had to be solved before, and while, attempting the capture. One was the limited window of time the wren's nest box was exposed to direct sunlight had to be utilized due to the high-speed nature of the capture. Read "lots of light for fast shutter speeds and low ISO for those of you who know a bit about photography".

Working in close, I had to estimate the flight path as best as possible because the Depth of Field for close-up shooting is small. Which means the area in front and in back of the specific plane being focused on gets blurry very fast.

I also had to guess at when the bird would launch from the top of the box, due to a 180 degree turn the bird would have to perform in the air to enter the box at a lower level. Sounds simple, but the bird completes its turn in this series of 8 frames. The camera was set to record at 28 FPS. That would mean you have to capture an event that takes place in approximately 1/3 of a second.

The wrens visit the nest approximately 3 times per hour. This nest box is also fairly high off of the ground and the location dictated the use of a folding ladder which I was sitting atop. All this in today’s heat. Thank goodness I could hold my umbrella over me as I waited for the magic moments.

Am I a bit silly? Hmmm? Probably. But I am enjoying the results, and I will now go take a short nap. Enjoy.